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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26452639">One night contract</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moneneki/pseuds/Moneneki'>Moneneki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Break Up, Drama &amp; Romance, F/M, Indecent Proposal AU, Millionare!Zuko, Romance, Side MaiLee, Yue (Avatar) Lives, hopefully not too OoC characters, liberal use of references from the series, zutara all the way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:41:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>103,959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26452639</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moneneki/pseuds/Moneneki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Besieged by debts that could end the legacy of the extinct air nomads, Katara and Aang make one last desperate attempt at the casinos of Omashu. There, they meet the millionaire Zuko, and receive a proposal that could be their only chance. </p><p>Zutara fanfic inspired by the movie Indecent Proposal (1993).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara &amp; Suki (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Southern Air Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I met Aang in high school. It was a little before my fifteenth birthday, he was twelve years old. He was a short, skinny boy, all joints, and always accompanied by a long-haired bison-dog named Appa. After classes, Appa always looked like a mountain of powdery white hair, lying in the sun in the middle of a nap.</p><p>Aang lived with his adoptive father, a man named Gyatso, on a farm next to our lot. The entrance to the place had a rickety sign reading "Southern Air Temple", but my brother and I called it "the Iceberg." It was a particularly cold area in autumn, because of the polar air current that made small icicles form on the edges of the roofs. Despite the bitter cold each winter, and how limited their vegetarian diet could be in a place like this during those seasons, Aang and his father had adapted surprisingly well to the southern climate.</p><p>We never took classes together, but as neighbors, we became friends very quickly. He loved snow activities and sledding… as we went to the same school too, it was the logical step for my brother Sokka, with his 16 years old and his brand new driver's license, to pick us both up from school, in our family's old van. We didn't usually carry Appa, it would have raised the cost of gas too much, but by the time we got to the entrance of the Iceberg, Appa was already there to greet Aang. As hard as Sokka tried, he never managed to figure out just how the bison-dog was so fast.</p><p>Although it was easy for Aang to make friends, he didn't open up much to others. It took him almost two years to tell us the most painful parts of his story: he and his adoptive father were the only two survivors of a massacre that wiped out all of his people, the air nomads.</p><p>It was an attack that an industrial magnante led, to vacate the territories and then exploit them. Gyatso tried to save the children he taught and took care of, but the only one he could take was baby Aang. Years later, the government punished the person responsible for the genocide, Ozai Azulon: they imprisoned him for that and several other crimes. And although the air nomads were almost completely exterminated, the only compensation Gyatso and Aang received was that land in the south and an amount of yuan that had barely covered their living expenses while they led the trial. All in all, they both looked happy, like father and son. They planted in season, reaped enough to survive and for Aang to go to school.</p><p>It stopped being like that when Gyatso fell ill. With another debt for the hospital bill, the effort was useless, as he died a few months later. Our adoptive family ties became even tighter; Aang would go back to his house to sleep, but he almost lived with me, Sokka and our grandmother, who took care of us since Mom had died (long before Aang arrived), and Dad had gone away to work.</p><p>When I turned 16, Sokka went to study in the city and only came back on vacation. Two years later, I went to the city and lived with him, and although I wanted to get a degree at the university, there simply wasn’t enough money. So while Sokka studied to become an engineer, I settled for a shorter and cheaper technical career, easier to balance with a part-time job (it was still difficult, but I could sleep more than Sokka most of the time). The part I liked the most about being in the city were the new people and places to explore. During that season, I even dated a couple of guys despite dramatic and categorical opposition from my brother.</p><p>After two more years, when I turned 20, Aang came too and we shared the apartment to cut down on our expenses. We used to be in the red, between Aang's impulsive purchases and Sokka's occasional whimsy splurges. And unsurprisingly, I was the one who ended up doing most of the housework.</p><p>Later that year, I started dating Aang. The transition was surprisingly smooth and fluid. When he turned 19, among words of love, he asked me to marry him. Everyone told me that it had a long time coming, that the love in his eyes was visible since he was 12. I didn't let their jokes bother me. I was in love too, and although my grandmother and father told us we were too young, Aang said that a life with no risks was not worth it.</p><p>So we eloped.</p><p>By then, I already had my technical degree and a slightly better paying job, and Aang got a loan for the deeds to his land to finish his fine arts degree. In the years that followed, we settled in the city. A more humble house and frugal expenses allowed us to settle the monthly payments (albeit we were sometimes late) and we reduced the debt, slowly but surely. In a decade or so we would be free.</p><p>Or so it was until Aang lost his job.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Aang," I called from the corridor, a basket of dirty clothes resting on my hip, "have you put the clothes away yet?" The newspaper said it was going to rain in the afternoon.</p><p>On the way to the kitchen, I picked up two shirts, a pair of pants, and five socks, all scattered between the floor, the chairs, and the living room. The sixth sock was in Appa's mouth.</p><p>"No, I’ll do it in a minute," I heard him scream from the kitchen, where he had somehow managed to dirty up three plates by serving himself cereal.</p><p>"What did we say about leaving clothes all over the house?" As I entered, I showed him the basket. “Only the pants were in the laundry basket in the room!”</p><p>"I’m sorry." He hunched his shoulders, repentant and with the eyes of an abandoned puppy. That was the bad thing, he was genuinely forgetful and got distracted easly, he didn't do it to bother me. I sighed, letting it pass.</p><p>"All right, just try to remember, okay?" With a smile, I sat down next to him.</p><p>"I served you cereal." Eagerly, he placed a plate of cereal filled to the brim and a jug of milk in front of me.</p><p>"Thank you." I kissed his cheek and discreetly returned some of the contents of my plate to the box. He always served me too much, but it was the intention that counted.</p><p>With a half-bark, Appa arrived with the mail between his jaws. As soon as Aang removed the paper bundle, Appa asked for a pat on his head, with the fur in an arrow pattern just like Aang's traditional tattoos.</p><p>One of the letters was from Dad, I immediately recognized the cream-colored envelope and the pointy penmanship. Aang handed it to me as he finished looking at the rest of the correspondence.</p><p>I read it over my plate. Dad said he would have some vacation days soon, and wanted to make a family reunion. I made a mental note to call Sokka and coordinate our schedules. Perhaps it would be better to meet directly at our childhood home, where only Grandma lived now, or Aang and I could meet them at Sokka and Suki's house so we could all go together in the van.</p><p>A strangled sound woke me from imaginary logistics.</p><p>"K…" I looked up. There was a glint of desperation in my husband's eyes. “The book project was canceled… I won’t have a job.” </p><p>I put my hands over my mouth. My income covered basic daily expenses, but Aang, who worked by project, was the one who contributed most of the money to pay the mortgage.</p><p>"Oh no…" I mumbled to myself, mentally going over all the options and the credits we had already taken. I hugged him, feeling the knots of tension in his back. “What are we going to do? No other projects in sight?”</p><p>"No, at least not until the end of the year." He wrung his hands and we were silent for a long time.</p><p>"The suspension of payment is due this month." I bit my lip, then grabbed a pencil and paper and began to do numbers. No, no, no. Not even using every last coin of our savings, we would not cover the payment for this month and eat, too.</p><p>I handed the paper to Aang, devastated. Unless another idea came along, this was the end of the Iceberg… the Southern Air Temple.</p><p>"I have an idea." He startled me and I looked at him cautiously. Many times, they were good ideas, but sometimes... The spark of hope in his gray eyes made me give him the benefit of the doubt. “Let's go to Omashu for the weekend, to a casino. I am good at cards, you know.”</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>"But Aang, we don't have any money." On the dining room table, surrounded by chairs dirtied by Aang's snowshoes and Appa's paws, I emptied the jar that contained all of our savings, or what was left of them after paying the bills for the month. “With this, we can’t even pay for the trip. Even if we did, what if we lose it all?”</p><p>"You can ask Sokka for money," he implored. “We just need a little to get started, then we will use what I earn to have more money.”</p><p>I bit my lip.</p><p>"Honey, it's a bad idea. It's too risky…”</p><p>"Do you have any other suggestions?" Although his tone was harsh, there was desperation in his eyes, a feeling that was mirrored in mine. As much as my brain was raging, I couldn't think of any other solution, except perhaps another loan. And the lands… they were sacred ground, all that was left of the air nomads. The value was not only sentimental, it was <em> identity </em>for Aang and the late Gyatso... we could not lose it.</p><p>"Very well, I'll do my best. I'll call him in the afternoon when I get back from work,” I agreed, defeated.</p><p>There was a pressure on my chest. This was a horrible idea.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Was this a thing before? Because if it was, I couldn’t find it :( So, I finally decided to write it. It’s not something tremendously original, anyway, I hope you enjoy the ride. </p><p>So… on with some more rambling! Some of the liberties I took were for the characters' last names, because apparently the last name is reserved for rich people like the Beifong. Also, early 90’s AU. And I am not pleased with the way Aang’s character and arc were treated during season 3. Some of my complaints might seep into the written Aang; hopefully, it will not thread (at least not too deep) into Aang-bashing territory. </p><p>This work is a translation from Spanish, the bulk of it being done with Google translate but revised and edited by me :) And I’m not a native speaker, so maybe it reads strange or there are mistakes. If you notice, do let me know (or if someone would like to beta the text, that’d be extra awesome!). </p><p>I started this fanfic during Zutara Week 2020, and while it has nothing to do with the prompts, I still consider it as my contribution &gt;:D<br/>There will be weekly updates, maybe 15 or 16 chapters. </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Omashu</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The entire bus ride he kept a pretense of good spirits. Though, as soon as he believed that I was not seeing him, his mouth fell to a sad line and his gaze faded.</p><p>I tried to smile back, but I was not in the best condition myself. I still couldn't get Sokka's words out of my mind when I asked for the money.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Katara, this is… are you sure? It doesn't seem like something you’d do. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Please, Sokka, it's an emergency. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh... okay. But I don't like it, I don't like it one bit. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Although Omashu and its casinos were 12 hours away by bus, it was cheaper than plane tickets, so we had to stick with that. My boss gave me a two-day permit, which I placed on Thursday and Friday to have four days off, considering that two days would be spent on the bus and we only had the money for a single night at a hotel. The second night we would be in the casino, but we would have to reach the bus station at dawn to make it home in time.</p><p>We hopped off the bus, both stiff from the long journey. We asked for information at the bus station and took a taxi to the hotel they recommended to us called the Fire Palace. This hotel has a reputation for high stakes and lots of gamblers.</p><p>It was composed of two impressive buildings, with at least 40 floors of rooms with balconies and pagoda-style pointed tile roofs. They were connected via a very ornate internal corridor; the tower on the left, where we registered, was advertised as “Fire Palace”, and the other tower, as “White Lotus”. It seemed strange that they were two different hotels when they had the same style and were connected.</p><p>Upon entering, we were received by a semi-darkness illuminated by lamps that simulated blue fire, and luxurious red and gold carpets covered all the floors.</p><p>We checked in and paid in advance (for the cheapest room, of course) and turned down the bellboy who offered to carry our only suitcase. Fortunately, the room did not have blue fire lamps, and although the view through the window was not that great, I was impressed with the expanse of the city and the constant movement of cars.</p><p>"We can sleep for a couple of hours, the casino action starts at 7" Aang told me as he went through the brochure they gave us at the hotel reception.</p><p>"Ufff." I lay down on the bed, resting my aching back. “Okay, I think I'll feel better after getting some sleep.”</p><p>"I'll save you a snack." He took out the “provisions” (that would hopefully save us from buying a meal or two) from our suitcase and turned on the television. I knew he’d be too nervous to sleep.</p><p>The sound of a nature program playing on the TV lulled me to sleep; although I had confused dreams involving the haunting blue fire and the warm colors of the sunset.</p><p> </p><p>Aang woke me up at 6:30. I ate a granola bar and drank some water before putting on one of the lightest dresses I had, the most suitable for this climate. I felt too bare, so I also grabbed my long jacket before leaving the room.</p><p>I swallowed hard as we handed over the money Sokka had lent me to exchange for chips. There were 2000 yuan, which we somehow had to transform into <em> at least </em> ten times that. If that wasn't a desperate move, then I didn't know what was.</p><p>"To the card tables first." Aang took my arm and settled himself at one of the tables. There were already a couple of players. It was a group of women a little older than me, all dressed in elegant feathered hats.</p><p>The markings on the cards were familiar, after all, we used to all play together before, at home. I had never considered myself particularly good at it, so I decided to participate as a spectator.</p><p>"Let's start gently, shall we, ladies?" Aang always had a knack for handling small parts in his hands and chose that moment to do one of his favorite tricks, spinning the coin-shaped token over his knuckles. Seeing it, the women laughed.</p><p>"Go ahead, boy," one of them answered. The others nodded and advanced an equal chip.</p><p>Almost without noticing it, I began to bite my nails while Aang drew his cards, exchanged them, and even chatted with his tablemates. The moment seemed eternal.</p><p>"I'm sorry, ladies. I think this is mine.” He dealt his hand of cards, a succession of the four aces of crystal, wave, flame, and cloud, of which he also had the king.</p><p>"You crushed us." One of the ladies threw down her cards, with a far worse game than my husband's, and crossed her arms. On the contrary, another of them laughed heartily.</p><p>"You don't see that game every day. Give me a rematch.” The table manager was already shuffling the cards again.</p><p>"But now it's double." Aang played with two of the chips in one hand. We started with 10 and already had 13. Even if he lost this round, we would have already won a chip. “Unless you want to join, K.”</p><p>Just thinking about the stress of holding my hand of cards and having to focus on a strategy made me nauseous.</p><p>"My nerves are going to cut your luck. I'll take a look at the stores for a while, honey.” I said goodbye with a pat on the shoulder and a kiss, which he returned without taking his eyes off the hand of letters he had just received.</p><p>"Okay, I'll find you later to have dinner together."</p><p>I didn't go directly to the stores. Instead, I took a detour around the casino, watching all the people gamble. Most of them were much more elegantly dressed than me and I was even more glad to wear the jacket. I felt so out of place, although no one seemed to notice anything unusual when I sometimes joined the onlookers at a betting table.</p><p>There were so many games. Dice tables, roulette, slot machines and many more tables of different card games. After dinner, I’d take a look around the dice area.</p><p>Of course, a hotel this luxurious also had to have at least one boutique. I verified that there were boutiques, plural, just outside the great room that housed the casino. An entire aisle of stores where a single dress was worth more than everything I had in my closet.</p><p>Of course, knowing that wouldn't prevent me from going inside to see.</p><p>The largest store had a huge neon green sign. Crystal Cave, it seemed to honor its name in the display cases that lined every wall and free space of the premises; in the main display was a mannequin in a navy blue dress, so dark it almost looked black.</p><p>I went in and made sure the store’s employee was busy with another customer; it would be less awkward for me. I walked up to the display with dresses hanging from hooks and looked for my size, tried it on over and looked in the mirror. I bit my lip. Not even (much less because it was an elopement) at my wedding had I had such a beautiful dress, with a high neck made of semitransparent fabric and sparkling ornaments, small crystals sewn into the simulated heart neckline.</p><p>I looked away from my image and choked at the price tag. That dress’s price was half what we needed to earn at the casino.</p><p>I almost let go of the dress. If I dirtied it up, they might want to charge me for it and the last thing I needed was another debt, so I straightened it out as best I could and put it back in place.</p><p>A small table inside the store caught my attention. On it, rested a plate full of chocolates, apparently little snacks for customers. I sneakily glanced over my shoulder. The employee was still busy, carrying shoeboxes for the other customer to try on. Standing next to her was a jaded-looking man who snorted impatiently from time to time, fully focused on his wristwatch.</p><p>I was glad for the second time that I had brought the jacket, with so many pockets. Discreetly and with a too-big smile, I approached the table and took one of the chocolates to taste it. As the employee disappeared again with another box of rejected shoes, I took two handfuls of chocolates and stuffed them in my pockets. They were good chocolates. Some had walnuts or hazelnuts in them; others were in the shape of shells with mixed colors of dark, white, and milk chocolate. Many had green sugar crystals for decoration; those seemed to be themed after the store’s name.</p><p>I took one of the chocolates dusted with sugar crystals and as I raised it to my mouth to eat it, I noticed someone’s eyes on me. A man was staring at me from outside the store, apparently not paying attention to the conversation of the people who were with him. The hair framed light-colored eyes and a burn scar on the left half of the face; he wore a black suit that made him stand out little against the dark walls. A short instinctive reaction of fear assailed me, preventing the chocolate from touching my lips.</p><p>To my surprise, the man smiled (barely lifting a corner of his mouth, but still clashing with the look the scar gave him) and made a subtle nod, as if pointing behind me. I turned around and saw that the employee was already back, at the cashier to collect from the woman who had finally found some shoes. Feigning calmness and pretending to see the other shelves, I walked to the door of the store.</p><p>I almost collided with someone at the entrance.</p><p>"They're better in the store at the back," the man with the scar whispered to me. His eyes were golden, I noticed. With one last look, he entered the boutique and closed the glass door.</p><p>I stood, puzzled for a moment, before realizing that he had just recommended me to steal more candy from another store.</p><p>"Um, thanks," I said, too late for him to have listened. He had approached one of the cabinets and was talking to the employee from whom I was fleeing. I slipped away, in the direction of the store in the back, where I discovered that they offered canape-style snacks, with jam and cream. Although they were good, they weren't the kind of snack I could throw in my bag without making an absolute mess.</p><p>Still, after a couple of delicious bites, my spirits were much better than on arrival. Back in the casino hall, it was easy for me to find Aang in the center of a small crowd.</p><p>"K? Honey, we have 12,000 yuan! I just won 12,000! “ he almost flew in my direction, where I was too shocked to move.</p><p>“Really? Oh Aang!” I hugged him tightly, feeling like I had wings.</p><p>"Let's go grab some dinner. We've earned it.” With a beaming smile, he took my arm and led me to a table in the hotel restaurant. A wave of tranquility washed over me. Including today, we had almost half of the money we needed, discounting the money that we would repay Sokka with.</p><p>When we got to bed, it was almost 5 in the morning and we were 11,000 yuan richer. </p><p>After Aang pulled me against his side and kissed me, I finally relaxed and thought that we might have a chance to get out of this absurd situation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello again! This chapter is much more polished thanks to rahidas04, who will be beta-ing this work from now on :’D Big thanks to her!</p><p>Hope you enjoyed, and tanks for the kudos and comments :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Fire Palace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We took our luck for granted and we didn’t think about it until it was too late to fix it. My husband refused to believe either of those two things.</p>
<p>The “provisions”, consisting of granola bars and chocolates, had already run out. The feeling of hopelessness made me feel as gray as the linoleum on the floor of this fast food restaurant and far from the deep, rich red of the Fire Palace restaurant’s carpet the night before.  </p>
<p>"We said we would leave at least 500 for the trip back and pay something to Sokka." The half-withered lettuce salad was more cheerful than our faces.</p>
<p>Aang rested his head in his arms.</p>
<p>"Look, I'm going to flip a coin. Winged boar, we leave. King, I bet everything on the roulette.”</p>
<p>"Aang… we leave tonight anyway." But, he already flipped the coin before I could stop him.</p>
<p>“King!” He almost seemed relieved. He quickly tossed down a bill with the effigy of the Earth King to pay for dinner and almost flew back to the hotel. The gesture of the waitress who picked up the money reflected that it was not the first time she had seen that show and it surely would not be the last.</p>
<p>It wasn't just the waitress. Behind me, I heard a snort, almost a laugh. It was a girl with jet black hair, tied in a high ponytail styled with a green headband. She seemed to mock us. I frowned but paid no more attention as I followed my husband out.</p>
<p>I felt even smaller than the first time we entered the casino. The ladies in the feathered hats were now at the dice tables, which I hadn't been able to get near yet. And, the way things looked, I wouldn't have a chance to do so anymore.</p>
<p>When I caught up with Aang, he was already in line for the roulette.</p>
<p>"Blue or red, K?" He directed the question at me but did not take his eyes off the roulette wheel and the small metallic sphere that jumped and danced between the spinning boxes.</p>
<p>I didn't answer and tried to moisten my dry lips.</p>
<p>Our turn had come. We advanced; Aang carried in one hand all the chips that signified years’ worth of savings.</p>
<p>"Blue is the best color," I heard him mutter as he put the small stack of chips in the box corresponding to that color.</p>
<p>The manager turned the device with a lever. We could still change the color we were betting on.</p>
<p>"No, better red." He moved everything to the next square, in red velvet.</p>
<p>The ball bounced between the compartments. I wasn't sure, but it seemed to touch more blue boxes than red ones.</p>
<p>"No, blue…" Aang thought about it too and changed it as the speed dropped.</p>
<p>One spin, another. The little ball stopped longer and longer in each box through which it passed.</p>
<p>It fell into a blue one. But it still had too much momentum.</p>
<p>It swung on the edge between 3 and 4, blue and red respectively.</p>
<p>Finally, it fell into the red.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I lunged forward, trying to change our chips to the winning color one last time. The gloved hands of the manager prevented me from doing so, and I could only watch him take away everything we had left.</p>
<p>Aang put an arm around my shoulders. The only time I had seen him look grimmer was when Gyatso died.</p>
<p>"That's why you have to know when to stop, twinkle-toes." The girl with the diadem appeared next to me, the one who laughed in the restaurant. She had a dog in a harness held in her left hand.</p>
<p>The lump in my throat was from the pain of losing our last yuan; with the girl's words, some anger settled there as well.</p>
<p>"Come on." This time I was the one who took him by the hand in flight, to wherever the girl with the dog wasn't.</p>
<p>“What? You know it's true.” When she turned in our direction, I made out her milky pupils, unmistakably blind. Still, I didn't stop.</p>
<p>We settled in a small crowd. I shook Aang's hand in mine and let out a light sob. To distract me, I looked at what everyone around us was gazing at: a game of cards. Not just any game. My eyes widened when I saw the color of the chips they were handling on that table. Silver and red, each of them were worth 5,000 yuan. At the center of the table, four towers of five of those chips were joined. 100,000 yuan among all players.</p>
<p>A mixed emotion settled in the place of my despair, something between anger and envy. How dare them? With half of all that money, Aang and I would not only cover our late mortgage debt, we could live for the rest of the year.</p>
<p>One of the men threw his hand of cards to the center. Very good game, I observed with distraction. The general anguish of the loss at roulette was still prominent in my mind.</p>
<p>The other bettors drew their cards, none as good as the one already displayed, and the winner dragged the stack of chips towards him. One of them sighed and leaned back in his chair. However, his gesture was not helpless, not even annoyed. He just looked bored... and when he turned, I met the direct gaze of the golden eyes and the burn scar from the day before, in the dress boutique. The half smile that emerged on his face left me standing there. So, he was one of the rich people who bet at the VIP tables.</p>
<p>I swallowed and for a moment forgot Aang next to me. Intuition told me that he found me attractive and of course, my ego was flattered.</p>
<p>He stood up and pushed his way through the assembled people to face me.</p>
<p>"Good evening." His eyes hadn't left mine. There was no doubt that he was speaking directly to me. I felt the pressure of Aang's hand on mine, reminding me of his presence.</p>
<p>"Good evening." I glanced at Aang, who put on a mask of amiable interest.</p>
<p>"Would you do me the honor of joining me for luck?" The man with the scar spoke seriously, not arrogantly, as I would have expected from those who sat at those tables.</p>
<p>"Hey, she's my wife," Aang protested from beside me. A spark of irritation broke through the other confused feelings. I was the one who decided, not him, husband or not.</p>
<p>"My apologies…" He looked surprised, as if he hadn't even seen Aang.</p>
<p>“No problem. I'd like to join you." I glared at Aang with my eyes, and he had the decency to look embarrassed, "Mister…?”</p>
<p>"My name is Zuko Ta-Min. And yours?”</p>
<p>"Katara Hannak." He offered his arm to guide me back to the table.</p>
<p>"Do you really think she will come back?" Behind me, I heard the voice and the outrageous laugh of the blind girl with the diadem, whom I didn't see coming. “That guy has more money than you have hair.”</p>
<p>The color rose to my cheeks when I heard that. Zuko next to me didn't seem to show any emotion, but he cleared his throat. He offered the chair next to his and I sat down as he advanced 50,000 yuan in chips to the table.</p>
<p>I received the usual five cards. Ugh, they weren't very good numbers. I had two sevens, a ten, a three, and a Queen.</p>
<p>I asked for two for change, the ten and the three. The Queen was worth keeping, I hoped… It didn't turn out very well, as the cards they returned to me were another three and a nine.</p>
<p>Also, on that turn another player lowered his hand: a full, three tens and a pair of Kings. I threw my cards. Apparently these games wouldn't do much to improve my mood either.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," I apologized even though I knew I'd gotten a bad hand of cards. “I didn't bring you much luck after all.”</p>
<p>He smirked without taking his eyes off the cards on the table.</p>
<p>"Do you like card games?" He didn't seem in the least bit affected by the 50,000 he had just lost.</p>
<p>"Not particularly," I replied cautiously.</p>
<p>"I should have asked before. Dice?”</p>
<p>"I like those better." I was glad he hadn't suggested roulette. I didn't want to go near that table or one like it for years. Or the rest of my life.</p>
<p>He offered me his arm again. Although I looked around one last time, there was not a trace of my husband among the people around the table.</p>
<p>I let him guide me to one of the deep tables, the special ones for rolling dice without them falling to the ground.</p>
<p>"Give me a moment." He was an important enough customers to get a table reserved for him no matter if there was a line. It surprised me… and bothered me a bit too. The night before, I had given up approaching the craps tables from the line that formed in that section.</p>
<p>The manager to whom Mr. Zuko had whispered instructions picked up a phone. When he came back to my side, he still didn't seem willing to throw or let me throw.</p>
<p>“One minute. This casino’s staff is very efficient, but they still need a little time.” He looked at my face.</p>
<p>"What did you ask for?" I looked away on the pretext of observing the employees, all dressed in sharp suits. I still had a hard time looking at his scar and I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable.</p>
<p>"More chips," he said nonchalantly after clearing his customers. I looked at who I assumed was an assistant, who was behind us with two stacks of 10 silver chips. More chips than those? “I have a hunch this will be the highlight of the night.”</p>
<p>A manager arrived. He was holding a container, which he treated almost reverently as he placed it on the table in front of Zuko.</p>
<p><em> One million? He’s gonna bet it all? </em>The whispers around me gave me more information than the man next to me.</p>
<p>10 chips came out of the container. Golden in color, they were the highest denomination available in the casino.</p>
<p>Ten 100,000 yuan chips.</p>
<p>It was really a million.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without much concern, he took all the chips and arranged them in one of the squares marked on the dark blue carpet of the craps table.</p>
<p>"No kiss?" I opened my eyes in surprise. He quickly corrected himself. “To… to the dice, I mean. Kiss the dice. It’s for luck?”</p>
<p>He looked a bit flushed, or maybe it was my imagination. I swallowed in relief and smiled to myself. Zuko was not that charismatic millionaire mask, not as much as he wanted.</p>
<p>"Yes, there is a kiss, thanks for reminding me." I brought the pair of dice to my lips and closed my eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Seven or eleven, please. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I waved them in my hands for an instant, and threw.</p>
<p>It wasn't hard enough that they collided with the table's walls, but they still spun and bounced for a few moments before stopping at ...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seven.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cry of excitement was delayed for an instant, the instant it took me to understand that that seven in the dice meant that the casino had lost a million yuan... a million of loss to the casino that had kept our last savings and that left me feeling rewarded.</p>
<p>"Woah. Thank you.” I felt a hand on my shoulder and gave my biggest smile to the man who gave me the chance at this game.</p>
<p>"Thank <em> you. </em>" I nodded slightly. I was distracted from my excitement by Aang's arrival, who cleared his throat. He threw daggers across his eyes when he saw the hand on my shoulder.</p>
<p>"Congratulations, sir." He took my hand and I squeezed his in response, a little too forcefully.</p>
<p>"There are still several hours of service at the casino. If you wish to accompany me…” Aang was already shaking his head, “…or maybe one of the shows, I would really enjoy your company.”</p>
<p>He addressed both of us this time and it was Aang who answered, again not giving me a chance to speak. An incipient idea was forming in my mind, and to put it in motion, we needed a little more time to talk to Mr. Zuko.</p>
<p>"We’re leaving tonight," my husband apologized, with his hand on mine.</p>
<p>"Let me invite you to spend another night at the hotel. It’d be an honor if you would accompany me to a party I offer tomorrow afternoon” this third offer sounded a bit desperate. And it fit my idea.</p>
<p>"We'd love to," I rushed to reply before my husband could. Judging by how he took my hand, he wasn't happy with the decision. Instead, Mr. Zuko's eyes were glowing.</p>
<p>“Wonderful! I'll fix everything immediately. I hope you don't mind that the suite is in the next tower… my assistant will bring you the room card, so that you can move your luggage.” With a last smile, he shook hands with Aang and then with me, where he stopped for a second too long. “Good night.”</p>
<p>And walked away.</p>
<p>"K... what was that? Why did you accept? He's obviously interested in you.” He had the tone of a sulky child. I shook his hand from mine.</p>
<p>"I noticed he is interested in me, thank you very much for telling me and for trusting me.” I snorted. My husband sighed.</p>
<p>"You're right, I’m sorry. You wouldn't do that to me… I know.”</p>
<p>I was grateful that he admitted his mistakes, but I knew that the question he had asked was still there.</p>
<p>"I accepted because it was a free night in a suite. I don't have to go back to work yet.” Honestly, those reasons mattered little to me. I lowered my voice to a whisper to say what really made me accept the offer. “And if we go to the party and talk to him... maybe he can lend us some money. We don't lose anything by trying.”</p>
<p>I felt guilty about the interest behind accepting the invitation. Aang sighed, defeated.</p>
<p>“I get it. I still don't like it.” He scowled. An instant later, the man who had been carrying Mr. Zuko's chips came running up to us to hand us a card and tell us that he would take us to our room.</p>
<p>We went to the reception for our suitcase and then crossed the bridge, surrounded by glass, that connected the Fire Palace with the tower on the other side, White Lotus. Unlike the hotel we were leaving, the lamps did not simulate blue fire, and there was a long dragon carved around the main entrance. The atmosphere was also very different, not so strident.</p>
<p>The attendant, who was carrying our light suitcase, led us to the elevator and we went up to the 35th floor.</p>
<p>When we opened the door, I gasped for the umpteenth time that night.</p>
<p>"Spirits," I murmured as I looked around. Richly decorated, the room was the size of half our house; it had a small sitting room, the largest television I had ever seen, and an area with a desk, almost like a study. Outside the window, there was a small terrace with a jacuzzi and I was excited.</p>
<p>"Maybe accepting wasn't such a bad idea," my husband reluctantly conceded once the attendant closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>"I wish I wasn't so sleepy," I laughed. “We gotta make the most of it.”</p>
<p>I sat on the bed with the excuse of resting for a moment. Before I could even finish exploring the place with my eyes, I fell asleep almost immediately.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again, the freedoms were to assign surnames to the characters. Zuko's last name is the name of his great-grandmother, Roku's wife, with an extra dash. I would have put Roku on it, but "Zuko Roku" sounds pretty bad. Katara's last name is just a mix of her father's and grandmother's names.</p>
<p>Also, some comments on betting: Roulette is one of the very worst choices for winning money, especially in America since those roulettes have two spaces devoted to the house. I’m not saying is a good idea, but if anyone were to try their luck for money they desperately need in a casino, the best option would be betting everything in a single game instead of a series of small ones (there’s math behind this, I promise, but I don’t wanna bore anyone) and in a game of cards or dice, where the house’s wins are lower. So yeah, that thing they did was a pretty bad idea all around.</p>
<p>Shoutout to rahidas04 for the edition (it’s so much better after her revision TToTT) and thanks to everyone for the kudos, comments and for reading this story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Good morning K!" Aang woke me up with a blazing sun already shining through the window of our borrowed suite. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Breakfast is here!”</p>
<p>He was pushing a cart covered to the floor with a white tablecloth, filled to the brim with jugs, plates and dishes. He led the cart near the table in the living room, where he sat down.</p>
<p>“What’s that?” I wasn't quite awake, but I knew for sure that room service was out of our budget.</p>
<p>"Your admirer sent it." My husband seemed much more at ease with that idea than he had the night before, and it took a strain off my shoulders. I put on a robe (which was a part of the bathing suit, like a towel, but made of a finer fabric) and sat down with him for breakfast..</p>
<p>Spread out on the table were several large plates. Many were packed with fresh fruits, so typical of the Earth Kingdom. Another had a tower of flat, fluffy loaves I had never seen before, accompanied by three different jars of honey and jams. Boiled eggs, a jug of jasmine tea, another one of milk, cups of hot chocolate… It was a small feast and without waiting long I took a plate and helped myself. The night before we had some fast food dinner, that had not been abundant nor delicious. Not even palatable.</p>
<p>Aang began to eat as well, gladly burying the silverware into the different plates. At first, neither of us noticed the card in the middle of the banquet, with the hotel's logo embossed.</p>
<p>Once filled to bursting, it sprang into view and I took the paper to read it.</p>
<p>"Let's see…" My husband, busy taking out an extra spoon of jam, was not paying attention and I preferred to read to myself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Dear friends,  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I hope you are enjoying your stay at the White Lotus. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I take this opportunity to give you the details of the party: </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> it will take place tonight in the presidential suite on the 40th floor, at 7 p.m. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> It will be a great pleasure to see you there, </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Zuko. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found it strange that he had signed with only his name. I imagined rich people were fascinated with showing off their surnames and stuff.</p>
<p>"Oh… too bad I'm not hungry anymore," I heard my husband exclaim. There was something else under the card.</p>
<p>A plate with chocolates, like the ones in the store.</p>
<p>My ears felt warm and my husband noticed.</p>
<p>“Is everything alright?” He leaned toward me, examining me with concern.</p>
<p>“Yeah, fine... Do you remember the chocolates I brought from the store yesterday?” I had no doubt already blushed. “I think Mr. Zuko saw me take them.”</p>
<p>"You’ve seen him since that day?" If I wasn't worried about how Aang was going to take it, I would have laughed at his almost comical look of surprise.</p>
<p>"He saw me," I admitted without looking at him. “Although I had no idea who he was until yesterday at the card table.”</p>
<p>His silence turned a bit sulky, but after a few moments he let it pass.</p>
<p>"I would tell you that we can go out and explore Omashu, but the truth is that I prefer to enjoy the facilities of the room." He took off his clothes, leaving only his underwear before entering the jacuzzi.</p>
<p>"Aang! We ate too much! You have to wait at least an hour before… nevermind.” I gave up when I watched him frolic in the hot tub. “I'll join you in an hour.”</p>
<p>I took advantage of that time to take a little nap, from which my husband woke me up as soon as the time I had requested ran out. Since I wasn't wearing a bathing suit either (who would’ve thought that we’d get a free night's stay in a room with a jacuzzi?), I plunged into the water in my underwear too.</p>
<p>I had a better time than I thought I would, enjoying the hot tub for a long time and then splashing water on my husband's face. He responded with enthusiasm and at the end of the water splash fight, my stomach ached from laughing so much and all my skin was wrinkled like a raisin from the time we had spent submerged.</p>
<p>He left the jacuzzi, leaving a path of water in his wake and returned with two towels. He held out a hand to help me out of the water and then handed me one of the towels. As we dried off, I stopped for a moment to admire his body. He had really changed a lot, from the puny little boy he was at twelve to the man he had become. He never got bulky, but he did add quite a bit of muscle to his slim build, and his jaw and cheekbones sharpened. He was handsome.</p>
<p>"See something you like?" he asked me with a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he ran the towel over his head, where there was still no trace of hair and his tattoo could be entirely appreciated.</p>
<p>"Maybe," I feigned indifference, undoing my braid to dry my hair. “Or maybe I just think you're a long long lanky boy.”</p>
<p>"Come on, don't try too hard. You’ll never have Sokka's touch for nicknames.” He tossed the towel aside and scooped me up. “And if you don't take off those wet clothes, you're going to get sick.”</p>
<p>He gently laid me down on the bed and took another towel, which he draped around my shoulders to protect me from my damp hair. Then, with the one that I had used before, he gently went over my neck and shoulders, my belly and finally went down my legs to dry as much as possible. He leaned over me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, then kissed me with the same gentleness that always marked his actions. I returned the caress, urging my tongue to part his lips. In response, his hand slipped under the towel on my shoulders to reach for my bra clasp. When he found it, he struggled against it for a moment and then carefully pulled it out, pulling the straps over my arms and discarding the garment.</p>
<p>With the towel, he wiped the wetness left by the soaked bra again, then placed a kiss on my collarbone.</p>
<p>"Aang…" I sighed, without a clear idea of what I was going to say.</p>
<p>“Yes?” he replied, looking up solicitously.</p>
<p>A couple of knocks on the door interrupted the atmosphere.</p>
<p>"I think someone’s knocking…" I tried to sit up.</p>
<p>"It must be a mistake." Aang returned his lips to my neck.</p>
<p>"But…" I protested. After a few moments, the knocking was repeated “...at breakfast it <em> was </em> for us.”</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm going." Reluctantly, he stood and pulled one of the luxurious robes over to open. I felt a bit cold without his closeness and I took the other robe to stand up and peer over my husband's shoulder at the door.</p>
<p>A clerk dressed in the hotel's black uniform was standing there, with a crimson box, flat but at least half a meter on each side, in his hands.</p>
<p>"I have a package for Miss Katara." He held up the box, as if it were unclear.</p>
<p>“Yes?” I stood up and adjusted the silk ribbons on the hotel gown. I pushed Aang aside to speak to the clerk. “It's me.”</p>
<p>"This was sent for you. If you may sign here, please.” The boy handed me the box, which I passed to a surprised Aang, and then a clipboard with a pen. Once my signature was on the paper, he ended with a respectful goodbye and closed the door.</p>
<p>Aang rushed to my side.</p>
<p>“What is it? Who sent it?” For the second question, I probably had an answer. There weren't many people here who wanted to send me gifts. But for the first one, to find out I had to open the box.</p>
<p>The lid was attached to the box with a long black ribbon. When I undid the knot and saw the contents, I gasped. The dress from the Crystal Cave shop, carefully folded to show the sheer fabric collar and inlaid sparkly little ornaments, stood out above the red lining of the box.</p>
<p>"This dress costs half what we need," I muttered as I took it out of the box and spread it out in front of me. The fabric, fine and perhaps silk, was scratched by the battered parts of my hands.</p>
<p>“How do you know?” There was almost nothing left of her earlier romantic mood. I sighed, jealousy again.</p>
<p>"They sell it at the boutique downstairs, where I brought the chocolates from." The size was the right one and I couldn't resist the urge to go to the mirror and try the dress over the robe, the way I'd done in the store. But this time, without fear of being charged.</p>
<p>I admired myself from various angles, disregarding my husband's slightly sour gesture, who left to serve himself some of the leftover breakfast. When I saw him eating, I realized that I had spent too much time entertaining myself with the dress and I sat beside him, nibbling on one of the chocolates and lost in thought.</p>
<p>"It's almost time for the party," I jumped when I saw the clock hanging on one of the walls. Fortunately, I had brought a spare of everything, including a bra. Those things took forever to dry. I spreaded the dress carefully on the bed, then rummaged through my makeup bag and the other things I needed to get ready.</p>
<p>"Then you're going to wear it." I heard a note of displeasure in my husband's voice when he saw the dress over the bed.</p>
<p>"Yes... If he sees that I liked it, he may be willing to listen and lend us the money..." I replied from the bathroom, where I was finishing my makeup. I decided to go for a light makeup look so it didn’t seem like I was trying too hard. </p>
<p>Besides, it was such a pretty dress… I stifled a sigh, I felt so shallow for being so happy just because of an expensive dress.</p>
<p>I was worried that my husband could be in a bad mood, and I delayed the last touch to my outfit in the bathroom mirror a bit. When I came out, he was already wearing the most elegant jacket he had.</p>
<p>"It’s lucky you brought it." I found a smile on his face and responded with one of my own.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I packed it in just in case an eccentric millionaire who flirts with my wife invited me over to his private party of depravity and indecency."</p>
<p>I laughed heartily and kissed him on the cheek.</p>
<p>"Well, on the way to depravity."</p>
<p>The elevator needed a card to activate. We decided to use it just because when else could we? They were also five floors up. If the higher, the more luxurious, I was setting high expectations. On the other hand, that made it clear to me that however considerate Mr. Zuko's invitation might have been, he hadn't put us in the most luxurious place possible. That calmed me down a bit.</p>
<p>There was no need to verify the name of the presidential suite, because the door was wide open. Although it wasn't empty, it didn't seem like all the guests were already there, and soft music flooded the room from a live band.</p>
<p>I greeted all the strangers we passed with a simple “Good evening” and a slightly awkward smile on our way to the food table, which was the logical first stop.</p>
<p>Aang was much better than me at talking to people I had never met. Just seconds after we settled in, he was already making conversation with a very well-groomed couple who held glasses in their hands.</p>
<p>I stood by the table, not joining their conversation until they left.</p>
<p>"Look, they have a pool table!" my husband pointed out enthusiastically. “I haven't played since the first year of college.”</p>
<p>I followed him as he tried to compose a smile. After all, I was the one who had dragged him here, and had a very clear objective of getting the money to borrow...</p>
<p>I was never a fan of billiards, so Aang was not surprised when I did not reach out to choose a cue. Instead, he took his time observing each one, also waiting for someone else to come over to play.</p>
<p>"Good to see you here. Excuse me for not saying hello earlier.” I was startled by the arrival of Mr. Zuko, who was approaching us dressed in a suit not unlike the one he wore the night before, although this time his shirt was a sober wine red. “Care for a match?</p>
<p>He applied talcum powder to the tip of the pool cue without much care, leaving a stain on the lapel of his jacket. He reminded me of Sokka, always with his clothes stained, so much so that I had to restrain the urge to take out some paper from my bag to clean it. Instead, Aang spoke.</p>
<p>"Sure, hotman." That name didn't seem to please the man too much, but he said nothing and let my husband set the table for the game.</p>
<p>"Are you enjoying your stay here?" He said as he made his roll. He hit three of the colorful glass balls, but didn't send any through the holes.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it is an impressive place." I knew that it was not difficult for my husband to find and point out everything positive about something or someone. Meanwhile I sat in one of the nearby chairs, waiting for an opportunity to talk about money. The sporadic glances Mr. Zuko threw in my direction did not escape me.</p>
<p>The conversation continued and I intervened a couple of times, although the weight of the talking was done mostly by my husband. Midway through his account of one of Appa's most epic antics, another man approached the table. Judging by his gray hair, he was older. In an instant Mr. Zuko's calm gesture became slightly forced.</p>
<p>"Boss, good night, good night." The dark green of his suit was almost the same as the lining of the pool table. “Do you mind if I join?</p>
<p>"Not at all." My husband gave him a huge smile, while Mr. Zuko gave a slightly stiff nod. I greeted him in a low voice. “My name’s Aang and this is my wife, Katara.”</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you, you can call me Cab," he answered cheerfully as he selected a cue. “Such a pleasure to see new faces in these parts. Tell me, how did you meet the boss?”</p>
<p>"We found him at the card table," my husband replied in his usual cheerful tone. “My wife rolled the dice afterwards.”</p>
<p>He spoke with pride, almost as if it were a personal feat. I rolled my eyes. I was glad that he was comfortable, but this Cab gave me a bad feeling.</p>
<p>"Then you are the lovely lady of good luck the boss talked so much about." Mr. Zuko cleared his throat. Argh, if only Cab left us alone! </p>
<p>"I guess it's me." I made an effort to smile.</p>
<p>“Excellent, excellent. And tell me, what do you do?” He gestured to a waiter carrying glasses of wine and asked him to put the whole tray on a nearby table. I exchanged a brief look of surprise with my husband and heard Mr. Zuko's long-suffering sigh.</p>
<p>"I'm a draftsman and I'm in the process of getting a book out," it was my husband who answered. I was not too happy to declare my job as a secretary.</p>
<p>"Magnificent, magnificent. If you don't mind another question, it's something that always helps me get to know people better, it's not just some small talk.” Cab applied more chalk powder into his cue during Mr. Zuko’s turn, this time scoring one of the billiard balls. “What is your life goal? You don't mind us talking more informally, do you?”</p>
<p>"Not at all." In fact, my husband hated formalities. “My goal… I wouldn't mind being like the people at this party,” he joked with a laugh.</p>
<p>“No, no. Beyond money, something that satisfies you. Or you, Katara,” Cab continued, casting a glance in my direction.</p>
<p>I couldn't say that I was satisfied like that. What was it that I wanted? Study a career, of course. But what about besides?</p>
<p>"To have my degree in International Studies," Aang used to scoff because he didn't think I had the right temperament for protocol, "there’s never been… the resources."</p>
<p>"If we had that much money, it would be easier," my husband laughed good-naturedly. Instead, Cab smiled, in an almost predatory way.</p>
<p>"Money is certainly a blessing. For example, here the boss always gets everything he wants.”</p>
<p>“Everything?” I raised my eyebrows. It didn't strike me as the most polite turn by which Cab could lead the conversation.</p>
<p>"Everything," Cab agreed decisively.</p>
<p>"Cab, I don't think..." began Mr. Zuko, to whom Cab put a glass in his hand immediately and then pushed his arm until the glass reached his mouth.</p>
<p>"Like that wine, everything comes to him," Cab continued and Mr. Zuko frowned, "no matter what."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry to say I don't believe you. Not everything can be bought.” Suddenly, it seemed very important to contradict him. Every second that passed, I liked him less.</p>
<p>"So there are things that money can't pay for? Isn't that a bit cliché?” Hearing those words, I caught a glimpse of something in Mr. Zuko's golden eyes, something that no matter how much I looked at him I couldn't name.</p>
<p>"Yes, there are." I crossed my arms, facing Cab. “People, for example.”</p>
<p>"I'm afraid I disagree. I see people being bought all the time… the business world would collapse if people didn't sell themselves.” The man's irritating smile gave me the effect of hearing a nail on glass. “So no, I say that people can be bought.”</p>
<p>"Then love," I argued. This silly conversation was getting more fighting spirit out of me than it should have.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” The lines around his eyes deepened. I didn't like the gesture that appeared on them.</p>
<p>I nodded, as if urging him to continue. The pool game lay forgotten and Aang just stared at us like he was witnessing a kuai ball game.</p>
<p>"First of all, sir, do you remember you owe me a favor?" Cab gave Mr. Zuko (who seemed a moment away from trying to escape) a shrewd look. Instead of answering, he just nodded. “I want you to pay it back now. Let me have the million yuan you won last night.”</p>
<p>The look they exchanged communicated a lot that I couldn't understand, but Mr. Zuko nodded again. Was it that easy for him to dispose of the million?</p>
<p>"Now we can continue our interesting discussion." He looked at me with a smile that made me uncomfortable. “What were we on?”</p>
<p>"That love can't be bought," I reminded him through narrowed eyes.</p>
<p>“True, true. But what is love? Can we define it? We have to use something tangible if we want to continue the discussion.”</p>
<p>"If you don't want to accept my argument, I don't know what we can do," I replied. My cheeks felt hot.</p>
<p>"In that case ... let's do a little experiment. Mental, of course.”</p>
<p>It was his turn at the pool and he stopped talking to take his shot, the moment I took the opportunity to take a deep breath and try to calm myself. I felt my husband's touch on my arm and smiled at him, grateful.</p>
<p>"Suppose… I offer you a million yuan for the boss," he nodded at Mr. Zuko, "to spend a night with Mrs. Katara."</p>
<p>The boss in question started coughing uncontrollably. Cab, undeterred, patted him on the back.</p>
<p>"What the…?" Zuko started to speak after the coughing fit, but before he finished the sentence, Cab covered his mouth with one hand.</p>
<p>“So? What do you say?”</p>
<p>"No," Aang immediately replied, turning a little greenish.</p>
<p>"I'm interested in both answers." Cab looked me in the eye.</p>
<p>"No," the answer was obvious. My indignation grew.</p>
<p>"Those are just your moral prejudices speaking reflexively. But think about it, really.” He glanced at Aang's clothes, his shoes considerably more battered than Cab’s own. “One million yuan could do a lot for you, for the rest of your lives. That book you mentioned... security, abundance.”</p>
<p>"Thanks, but no," I replied in an effort not to lose my composure in this environment of rich people, where a girl screaming and pulling an old man's hair would look pretty bad, as offensive as said old man had been previously.</p>
<p>A waiter, or someone who looked like a waiter, approached Mr. Zuko and whispered something to him. It was obvious that he was relieved.</p>
<p>"An apology, an urgent matter requires my attention. Please, continue to enjoy the party.” He hurried away. Cab, on the other hand, frowned.</p>
<p>“It's very real, a million for a night of the boss with the lady, remember that I already have the money. If you think better of it and want to contact the boss... " Cab fished in his pocket "...here's his card. He will surely love hearing from you.”</p>
<p>And he disappeared too, leaving a card on top of the abandoned game of billiards.</p>
<p>"I don't know what just happened," my husband confessed, "but it wasn't very pleasant."</p>
<p>"He ruined my chance. Our chance.” I rushed to correct myself, thinking that it would not be easy to find Mr. Zuko again to ask for the money. Not after he'd fled like that.</p>
<p>I bit my lip. <em> Yes, there is a way, </em> the card seemed to whisper. I took it under Aang's surprised gaze and put it in my bag for the simple reason that there wasn't a trash can nearby. Or so I would tell my husband if he asked.</p>
<p>We stayed a while longer, which I spent in search of our host and running from both Cab and the blind girl with the dog in harness. Who would have thought she would be here too? Aang talked to other people and I ate dinner off the little sandwiches and snacks that other waiters carried on trays. Afterwards, we danced some pieces of the languid music that flooded the room.</p>
<p>Finally, my husband accepted that he was tired and we headed out. Before we could sneak away, however, the person I had unsuccessfully searched for appeared.</p>
<p>"Good evening," Mr. Zuko said goodbye to us at the door, with a barely perceptible smile but not meeting our eyes. The card he'd given us burned on my bag. “Your attendance was an honor.”</p>
<p>He was quick to leave before we could reply. The worst part was that he hadn't even sounded sarcastic.</p>
<p>I couldn’t ask for the money. That man, Cab...! On the other hand, I had Zuko's phone number. Maybe I could contact him… I glanced at my husband. If I did that, I'd have a problem on my hands: Aang's jealousy, or Zuko's expectations (of making a deal, of asking for something in return for the favor), could very well explode in my face.</p>
<p>Neither of us spoke much as we got ready for bed, or after Aang turned off the TV and we went to bed. I turned around so my back was to him.</p>
<p>I stirred between the linen sheets. Would all the ones in Zuko's house be like that too? For someone who could pay a million like pocket money, it would make sense. And with that million... Not only would we pay the full mortgage on the Southern Air Temple and the debt with Sokka, we could also repair the dilapidated house where Aang had lived with Gyatso and even move there, if we managed the excess money well.</p>
<p>The ruffling of sheets on the other side of the bed confirmed that my husband was not sleeping either.</p>
<p>"You're also thinking about what the crazy old man said, right?" I finally got in front of him.</p>
<p>"Do you think he would do it? And besides, what interest does this Cab have in his boss's sex life to intervene like this?” My husband’s frown was so deep it was almost comical. However, my chaotic thoughts kept me from laughing.</p>
<p>"Do we… do we contact him? The worst that can happen is that he doesn't endorse what the crazy old man said.” Though judging by Zuko's seriousness in letting him have a million yuan, it seemed unlikely “...but if he does... Imagine what we could do in the Air Temple with that money. In that he was right.”</p>
<p>"I could publish my book on the art of the air nomads…" His gaze took on the dreamy spark that I loved so much. It went out an instant later. “But I could never ask that from you, K.”</p>
<p>I was silent. The idea, beyond the fidelity problems concerning marriage, didn’t exactly disgust me. No, actually I thought it could be a hell of a lot worse. Many of the millionaires who did philanthropic acts and went on TV didn't look quite as... as Zuko. But that wasn't the kind of thing to say to one's husband, so I changed my angle.</p>
<p>"We can treat this… ah, like before I was your girlfriend. Do you remember when you first came to the city with Sokka and me? We went to that party and you slept with the weird girl, the one with the funny upwards hairstyle…”</p>
<p>"Meng… her name was Meng. Her ponytails were so cute.” Aang hit me with the most expensive pillow I'd ever seen. “And before I arrived with you, you were with the boy with the mustache, remember.”</p>
<p>"He didn't have a mustache when I met him." I felt the need to defend myself. After all, the mustache was a real offense. “Haru is a good boy.”</p>
<p>There was a pause.</p>
<p>"Would we forget it? As soon as it will happen?” He took my hand. “I don't like it… I couldn't ask you to do that. Do you want to do it?”</p>
<p>I carefully chose my words.</p>
<p>"I would do it for you." Which was something different than <em> wanting </em> to do it.</p>
<p>He hugged me and I felt his breath on my ear.</p>
<p>"Thank you, K.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I just hoped I’d never come to regret it.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It is... very long compared to the previous ones, an apology for that. I didn't find where to cut it. Can you guess who Cab is? xD</p>
<p>For the next chapter, we’ll have new povs! I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)</p>
<p>And as always, so many thanks to rahidas04 for betaing this work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Freedom Fighters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first light of dawn found me with tired eyes and in a terrible mood. Once the sun was out, I knew it would be impossible for me to sleep. Adding to that the late (or early, depending on the perspective) hour the party ended, I hadn't slept a blink all night.</p><p>I pulled the curtain open. Although the doctor instilled in me the lesson of not rubbing my eyes when he treated the burn, this time I couldn't help myself and cursed silently.</p><p>I wasn’t born lucky; that was my sister, at least until luck failed her. Even now, in possession of the company that was my father's bloody legacy, people used to say that my luck had not changed much.</p><p>Generally, I agreed.</p><p>On a new trip that was intended to win some allies among the shareholders of the Fire Corp., I was bored to death in the half of the hotel that still belonged to my sister. Through the glass of a shop window, I saw someone who caught my eye: a woman with dark skin and clothes much simpler than the rest of the people around. A soft smile adorned her face as she admired a dress over her clothes, in front of a mirror under the greenish lights of a hotel boutique. She turned around, browsing the shelves with a grace in her movements that left me spellbound.</p><p>When I looked into her eyes, despite the distance, I felt that everything fell into place. As if all the pieces of my life, which I had spent years trying to hold together without falling apart, were fused into a single complete slab. Like having such constant pain that you get used to it, and it suddenly stops.</p><p> <em> I must get closer to her. </em></p><p>I left the conversation that didn't interest me and before I knew what I was doing, I gave her directions to another store. As soon as I bought the dress that I saw her try on, I looked for her in that other store. But she wasn't there.</p><p>The rest of the night was agony; I kept an eye on the people around me, hoping to find her again, but dawn came without seeing her again. I almost decided to give her description to my employees and send them to look for her. I barely held myself back, she might have already left.</p><p>And the next night, when I found her in front of the card table where I was losing, the rest of the world disappeared.</p><p>I should have known that my bad luck would return and fate would be ready to slap me. She was a married woman. In any other circumstance, I would have walked away without another word. But the sensation of seeing her had the same effect on me as the first time, and I refused to give up on at least obtaining her friendship.</p><p>Against all odds, she accepted my invitation despite obvious opposition from her husband. She told me her name. Katara, a girl I had just met, whom I tried to impress with a million yuan bet ... and before I could lose her again, she accepted my invitation to a party.</p><p>What did I hope would happen when I did that? I wasn't sure myself; It was enough for me to seize the party to get to know her a little more, even if she was with her husband. She even wore the dress I sent her, which, by the way, suited her wonderfully. And then Col came along and with his usual talent, he annihilated my few hopes of making a good impression and maybe even calling her from time to time.</p><p>Shame made me shy away from her for the rest of the party. Still, between the education instilled by my uncle and the temptation to say a few last words to her, I looked for them to say goodbye. I knew I should have apologized too, apologized for the impertinence of my uncle's old friend, but in the end the shame won out and I preferred not to mention the incident. However, the full certainty that her opinion of me was already rock bottom did not let me sleep.</p><p>I got dressed and packed my nightclothes; the sun came through the window with the force of morning, not dawn. It was then a decent hour and I let the lack of sleep and my natural bad mood focus on the most logical target: Col.</p><p>"What, in the name of Agni, did you do last night?!” I hissed as I clenched my hands into fists the moment he responded to my call.</p><p>“I just wanted to help. Your uncle asked me to look after you” his caring attitude only served to enrage me even more.</p><p>“My uncle? What kind of help did you think…? You know what, it doesn't matter.” Again I rubbed my eyes. “I want you to buy, with your money, the most expensive box of chocolates you can find and send an apology to Mrs. Katara before they leave the suite. Do you understand?”</p><p>He opened his mouth, but before he could rebut my order, the ringing of the hotel phone interrupted him. I frowned at the device; not many people had my room number.</p><p>“Yes?” I picked up the phone and answered grumpily, still glaring at Col. His friendship with my uncle, his talent for cabbages, or his good sense of smell for putting up new stores (or not putting them, that would be more precise) wouldn’t matter anymore, I was going to get him out of the company if he kept that damn smile for a second longer.</p><p>"Good morning, Mr. Zuko. It’s Katara… ” I almost choked and fell into my chair with little grace.</p><p>"H... he... good morning, Katar... Mrs. Katara," I struggled with the words. Her voice had lowered my anger at Col in less than a second. He just gave his most smug smile of satisfaction.</p><p>"I'm calling you…" she took a breath. “About the… offer you made us yesterday.” I stopped breathing. Was I dreaming? “I agree. One night in exchange for a million yuan. Can we arrange everything today?”</p><p>I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, unable to process her words, much less to give an answer.</p><p>"Mr. Zuko? If... if you weren't serious, I'm very sorry, please forget this call.” Her voice sounded embarrassed and for an absurd moment I wondered if she was blushing. Then I rushed to answer, before she hung up.</p><p>"Not at all." I swallowed and tried to level my voice as much as possible. “We can close the deal as soon as you want.”</p><p>"Oh…" An anxious sigh was followed by a long second of silence and a hesitation. “Got it. Our lawyer will arrive around 12 with a draft contract.”</p><p>I nodded before realizing that she couldn't see it.</p><p>"We will use one of the hotel conference rooms. I'll pick you up at reception at 12:30.”</p><p>“Thank you. Until later…” She didn't know how to end the most surreal conversation I'd ever had either.</p><p>“Until then.”</p><p>I hung up before I could further embarrass myself. I stared at the hotel phone, unable to believe what had just happened. It wasn't really what I wanted, but it was damn close. I would’ve preferred a date and not a night of… though, thinking about it again, sex didn't sound bad at all. I cursed the firefly-butterflies that began to flutter in my stomach. It was an inappropriate and stupid feeling.</p><p>"So I don't have to buy the chocolates anymore, sir?" I had already forgotten about Col.</p><p>"No... not anymore. Give notice to reception that we are staying at least until this afternoon and tell them to extend the other suite’s stay until tomorrow,” I replied in an absent voice.</p><p>"Right away." He almost danced out, and I didn't know if I wanted to hit him or give him a reward.</p><p>I came out of the trance with a sudden idea. I hastily dialed my assistant's number. If she could solve everything in time, I’d give her good compensation.</p><p>"Ty Lee? I need two helicopters for this afternoon at the White Lotus. Prepare the boat. Wait, another helicopter. Call the chef… do we have a full time lawyer in Omashu? Tell him to hurry up, I need him here by 12. Do you have a few minutes? I need to ask you some questions…”</p><p>I would have to make at least one stopover. The idea was to put all my effort in this opportunity, because I’d be damned if I were to waste the first time that fate seemed to be on my side.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Neither my husband nor I said a single word after I hung up the phone. Aang wanted to call himself, but I refused. If he called, I would feel like he was selling me. So at least the one who was selling me was myself.</p><p>"Are you sure, K?" He looked at me helplessly, like a puppy alone under the rain, but since it was the sixth time he asked me, I was beginning to get fed up.</p><p>"We already talked about it. He agreed… I hope Jet arrives on time.”</p><p>My husband snorted.</p><p>“As soon as he heard "million yuan" he ran to his office. Don't worry, I wouldn't be surprised if he was already down there.”</p><p>"Shall we go get something to eat?" I suggested. I felt suffocated in the luxurious room, and besides, no free breakfast had arrived in the morning.</p><p>"Then we have to go find a doctor. Jet said…”</p><p>"Yeah, I heard what Jet said," I snapped and immediately felt guilty. “Sorry, I'm a little nervous.”</p><p>"It’s okay, I understand." He gave me a compassionate look that made him look just like Gyatso. He was so understanding most of the time that I felt like a capricious and irascible child in comparison.</p><p>After the meager breakfast that the change in the bottom of my purse was able to buy us, I meekly submitted to the medical examination. Jet, on the phone, said it would be a great advantage to have medical proof that I was healthy. More specifically, that I did not have any sexually transmitted diseases. Too bad we didn't have time for more specific tests, he said, but a basic medical certificate would be enough to add a clause to deal with possible contagion.</p><p>On the way back to the Palace of Fire and the White Lotus, I couldn't pay attention to what Aang was saying about Omashu's messaging system. It was an attempt to distract me despite his own uncertainty and I thanked him by clutching his hand a little tighter.</p><p>I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I saw that Jet was already at the White Lotus reception, pacing from one side to the other tirelessly.</p><p>"You should’ve called me from the very first moment," Jet claimed as soon as he saw us. “For a woman like Katara, I could have gotten at least two million.”</p><p>"Thanks for talking about me as an object, Jet," I complained with little patience. “You do know how to treat ladies.”</p><p>"I'm not the one who's buying you, sweetheart." He gave me his most charismatic smile, which, I hated to accept, made him look handsome. Worse still, he was a little right. “I merely assist in the transaction.”</p><p>“Good afternoon. You must be the lawyer, right?" Col, whom I didn't see appear at the reception, approached our small group.</p><p>"My name is Jet Gaipan. Member of the Fighting Freedom Bar,” he said proudly.</p><p>"Oh? Interesting… I've heard you're really good.” Jet puffed out his chest at the compliment. “Follow me please. We will review the contract with the boss.”</p><p>Along the way, Col continued to make light talk with Jet. Although Jet was not from Omashu, he had moved there several years ago, to study law and join the Freedom Fighters. They were based in Omashu, and offered free service to anyone who filed a lawsuit against the Fire Corp. or Ozai Azulon. In fact, that was how he and Aang had met.</p><p>However, the legal action against the company and its owner diminished considerably once the Fire Corp. passed into other, confidential hands after Ozai's incarceration.</p><p>We passed the sign for conference rooms and I frowned.</p><p>"I thought we were going that way," I interrupted Col's talk.</p><p>"No, the boss decided it would be better to receive them in his study. It is more private.”</p><p>With that, he effectively silenced the objections already coming to my lips. I followed all the men to the elevator, one that did not require a card to go up but had a watchman at the door. We descended once on the 40th floor.</p><p>"Come in, please," Col told us, pointing to the same suite where Aang and I had attended the party, and where Col presented us with the strange opportunity he had at the White Lotus instead of the Palace of Fire, and one night after planned.</p><p>We went into another room, one we didn't see the night of the party. Inside, there was a desk, several armchairs, and another couple of tables. The only occupants were Mr. Zuko, who was pacing in front of the window, and a man Col identified as another attorney.</p><p>“Good Morning. I'm Mrs. Katara's attorney. I came prepared with a contract, if you please see it.”</p><p>He exchanged formalities with the other lawyer, a man with a light complexion and dark hair, and they invited us to take a seat. My husband and I went to one of the two places' armchairs, where I restlessly squeezed his hand. He didn't stop moving his feet as the other attorney stepped forward to grab the sheaf of papers Jet had just taken out of his briefcase. He took his time to examine it, slowly reading each page, which only served to increase my nerves.</p><p>Throughout that process, my husband did not stop his footwork and our joined hands were sweaty. Only Jet, sitting at the desk and next to the other lawyer, seemed to feel calm. He even gave along little explanations.</p><p>"The usual clauses. Penalty for canceling, a medical certification of the interested party... time from the signing of the contract and until tomorrow morning, with a safety margin... the only detail that is missing is the name of your client.”</p><p>Mr. Zuko sought confirmation from his attorney, who nodded without a word until he saw something that made him pause.</p><p>"Protection in case my client dies during the act?" An amused expression came into the other attorney's eyes and Mr. Zuko looked a bit alarmed.</p><p>"A mere formality, in case of some unfortunate eventuality. To avoid any misunderstanding. ”Jet leaned in and the other attorney smiled before handing the sheaf of papers to Mr. Zuko, who spent a few more minutes reading. He seemed impressed, especially considering his usual laconic expression. With a nod, he handed the papers to his attorney, who added his name in the necessary spaces, and Mr. Zuko signed.</p><p>"You should work for me. You are a talented lawyer,” he told Jet over the papers.</p><p>Jet just smiled a little coldly. He would die before leaving the Freedom Fighters.</p><p>He checked the papers again and handed them to me for my signature. With one last glance, he nodded.</p><p>"Well, now. That's all.” Jet looked at me almost apologetically. Maybe after all he did have some traces of morality somewhere.</p><p>I nodded and hugged Aang before escorting him, along with Jet, Col, and the other attorney, to the door.</p><p>And when they closed the door, I was alone with Zuko.</p><p>My face was burning. I hid it for Aang's sake and what the money meant for both of us, but was terrified by the uncertainty. I bit my lip hard; "Terror" was not exactly the only feeling that aroused at being alone with him.</p><p>I kept my hands tense on my skirt as I wondered if I should remove my clothes directly, or if I should ask him what he wanted me to do.</p><p>"I’ll take you somewhere else and find you there a little later.” I looked up in surprise, didn't he want to take advantage of every last minute? He wasn't looking at me.</p><p>"W... well," was all the shock let me say.</p><p>"A helicopter will take you there. I can accompany you to the helicopter... if you don't mind?” In the light streaming in through the window, there was no doubt: he was flushed.</p><p>"Sure," I breathed out slowly. Maybe fear wasn't necessary after all.</p><p>"After you." He opened the door for me to pass and we entered the elevator, not once looking directly at me. The ear sticking out of his hair was very red. And I was sure it wasn't the one with the scar.</p><p>The elevator ride was short, but lengthened in the awkward silence. Once in the roof, he guided me to one of the two helicopters parked there. Judging by the markings on the floor, the hotel’s roof could fit three.</p><p>He was finally looking at me.</p><p>"I'll be there around seven." Before I could process what he was doing, he took my hand and kissed the back. I gave a little gasp of surprise. “Have a... Have a nice trip.”</p><p>I climbed into the helicopter and he closed the door behind me. Then he got into the other helicopter, which took off before the one I was in.</p><p>As we rose, the city below became smaller and smaller; my stomach was churning and I was sure it wasn't from the flight.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Once out of the room where I was leaving my wife behind, I was barely able to maintain the pretense of strength. Col, on the other hand, did not seem affected in the least.</p><p>"Maybe I'll ask you for some advice, Attorney Jet," he continued cheerfully as we got off the elevator, back in the lobby. “I used to have a few cabbage shops here in Omashu, you know. Somehow, it always ended in disaster... An earthquake, a flood, a fire, everything happened at least once. If I hadn't entered the company of Mr. Zuko and Mr. Iroh, I would be living on the streets right now.”</p><p>"Do you mind if I go to sit for a bit?" I didn't have the presence of mind to listen politely to Col and his failed business when I was already so close to a meltdown over my wife, whom I wouldn't see until tomorrow morning. They might already be doing it…</p><p>"Not at all, not at all. I won’t entertain your friend for too long, I’ll send some drinks your way as soon as we finish.”</p><p>Relieved, I turned away from both of them and took a seat in one of the rich red velvet armchairs at the reception desk. Very luxurious, but they were not comfortable at all, not like the couch at home where Appa always left a layer of long white hairs.</p><p>My gaze was as lost as my thoughts. I couldn't even express how grateful I was to my Katara for agreeing… it would allow me to save what little was left of my people's legacy. When we had children (which now, with the money, felt much closer and achievable), they would grow up in a place where they could see their roots.</p><p>Although for that, I needed to stay still while my wife slept with another man.</p><p>I felt nauseous and tried to distract myself by looking at Col and Jet as they chatted. I couldn't hear what Col was saying to Jet, but all the color drained from his face.</p><p>An instant later, Jet had him by the lapels of the jacket and was shaking him hard. Seeing the commotion, two hotel guards approached and Jet shoved him away. He staggered away in my direction.</p><p>"Aaah, Aang… I don't know how to tell you this…" He leaned back on the couch. “I swear by the Earth Kingdom that if I had known, I would never have done it, I would’ve warned you…”</p><p>I tensed, not understanding.</p><p>“What do you mean? Is something amiss?” I looked closely at Jet. He brushed his hair off his face; he was sweating.</p><p>"That man... Zuko... he is the son of Ozai Azulon."</p><p>“WHAT!?” I was shaking, not caring if the other guests present turned to see us. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!?”</p><p>"That cunning bastard changed his last name to his mother's." Jet looked like he was about to throw up. “But he is the son of Ozai, there is no doubt…”</p><p>"I’M GOING FOR KATARA," I ran out as fast as my legs could.</p><p>"Aang!" Jet yelled, already far behind me. I ignored him and took the elevator, pushing the people waiting and the elevator attendant. I punched the button for floor 40 and the door closed before they could stop me.</p><p>It was maddeningly slow! Why couldn't it go up faster?</p><p>"Come on, come on, move!" I yelled, punching and kicking the elevator walls. If I could fly, I would do it right then and there.</p><p>I tripped and almost fell when I got out of the elevator and started running towards the suite where I had left her with the son of the most dangerous man alive, the man who exterminated an entire culture and had done immense damage to the world. I hit the door with all my might.</p><p>"KATARA!" The door finally opened, but my relief turned to dust when I saw that it was just a maid. “Where is she? My wife, WHERE IS SHE?”</p><p>Without waiting for an answer from the poor girl, I entered the room. Empty.</p><p>“Sir! You cannot pass! This is a private room!” I took her by the shoulders. “Let go of me! I don't know who you're talking about, this is the owner's suite!”</p><p>"WHERE IS HE, THEN?" I didn't even try to control the volume of my voice anymore.</p><p>"Up, up, he always leaves by helicopter!" She pointed at the ceiling and that was all it took to get out again, and this time take the stairs to the roof.</p><p>A helicopter was taking off, moving further by the second. My clothes fluttered in the air currents coming off the propeller.</p><p>"KATARA! KATARA! KATARA, DON'T GO!” was the only thing I managed to scream, and even I couldn't hear it because of the noise of the machine. It was too late and I watched her disappear in the distance.</p><p>What little was left of my rational thoughts urged me to walk back into the building. There I found Jet out of breath, leaning on his knees.</p><p>“What do you think you're doing?” He asked between breaths. It still took several minutes for him to be able to speak coherently. “The contract is signed, you can’t cancel it, not unless you want to incur into fault and get another debt.”</p><p>I squatted down. If only Gyatso was still alive… damn it, even hugging Appa would be a great comfort.</p><p>Jet put a hand on my shoulder, apologetically.</p><p>"Come on, they gave us a credit for the bar and the hotel shows. The best thing you can do is hang in there until tomorrow morning.”</p><p>The last thing I wanted to do was sit among the other guests, but the drink was tempting. It would at least make the anguish bearable, the anguish of knowing my wife was spending the night with the son of the man who had mercilessly exterminated all my people.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Huge thanks to rahidas04 for betaing this story! And to everyone for reading. Let me know what you think :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Dragon of the West</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The destination the helicopter was heading to was not close; I hardly felt the long journey, lost in my thoughts as I was.</p><p>What was Aang doing right now? And Zuko?</p><p>And for some reason, it was Zuko who stayed on my mind. Imagining him, with the disconcerting, deep gaze he'd given me a couple of times, my stomach started to flutter. I couldn't keep escaping from that uncomfortable reality, which I had refused to put into words: I was attracted to him.</p><p>I felt shallow, disloyal, and despicable for thinking that I could actually enjoy a night with a man other than my husband, but the guilt for feeling that way didn't make the fact go away. And deep down, enjoying it was preferable to suffering every moment, right? Or was that just me trying to justify myself?</p><p>Under the helicopter, everything was the immensity of the sea, oblivious to my internal debates; I forced myself to take a deep breath… I always felt more comfortable when I was around water.</p><p>Ships of various sizes appeared here and there, and it was in one of them that we finally landed. Objectively, I knew that this was a medium-sized yacht, not one of the largest, but it still gave me the feeling that my family's little fishing boat would look like a nutshell next to it.</p><p>"Welcome to the Dragon of the West, Miss Katara. I'm Captain Lee. ”A man in uniform and a sailor's cap helped me out of the helicopter and then led me below deck. He opened the door of a room decorated with a luxury on par with that of the White Lotus suite and the restaurant of the Palace of Fire.</p><p>I stood in the doorway, not wanting to step on the gleaming cherry-colored rug and looking around me at the exquisite carvings on the furniture, fine wood filigree in warm tones. The dresser had a large mirror, several makeup packages, and a plate of chocolates waited on the table.</p><p>"Your clothes for dinner are in the closet, miss," Captain Lee said, as if to encourage me to go inside. “If you want anything else, just ring the doorbell over there” he indicated a button near the head of the bed.</p><p>"Thank you very much." I finally walked in and sat on the bed, setting aside my handbag. It looked just as out of place as I did in such elegant surroundings.</p><p>I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, concentrating only on my breathing and the rhythm of the waves gently rocking the boat. Like the times I went out with Sokka in our little boat to try to fish.</p><p>The memory of the time I threw him overboard, after he dared to imply that I shouldn't go with him because I was a girl, made me smile. In better spirits, I explored the rest of the room, barefoot to enjoy the quality of the carpet. It seemed that Zuko took into account every little thing he knew about me, I thought as I ate a couple of chocolates from the dresser. The small plate rested inside a wooden frame, so that the movement of the boat would not throw it to the ground.</p><p>Inside the closet, there was a pair of low heels in red, and a single garment hanging from a hook: a long red silk dress, with a single shoulder and low back. Low enough so that I could zip it myself up. To unzip it...</p><p>I bit my lip. The captain said there would be dinner. What would it be like afterwards? From what I knew, he could just take me to his room, tear off all my clothes and...</p><p>I shook my head. I had no reason to suspect that Zuko would use force or be harsh. Still, I couldn't really know, so no matter how small, it was better to consider the possibility.</p><p>The clock on the wall of the cabin let me know that I did not have that much time before he arrived and I started by getting dressed.</p><p>I took off the old blue summer dress with which I had arrived to put on the red one, which suited me just right, even the length, which surprised me. I was a little shorter and stockier than designers used to consider: dresses that fit my bust and hips were always too long for me, and those that were the right length usually were too narrow. Even the other dress, the one from the hotel, was a bit long for my taste.</p><p>I examined myself in the mirror and noticed something else. There were a couple of gaps at the level of the navel, which covered it but left visible some of the skin of my waist. It wasn't something I would have picked out in a store, but I liked the way it looked on me and my confidence grew a bit more.</p><p>There was no jewelry on the dresser and I was wearing my mother's necklace. Would I leave it on? Though its color clashed with the dress, the possibility of not wearing it felt worse: it made me feel stronger, more secure with the familiar weight between my collarbones. That meant not taking it off even when I started doing it with Zuko. Or at least pay close attention to where I put it.</p><p>I arranged my hair in a half bun, with the bottom half of my hair falling over my shoulders, and did my makeup. What was on the dresser might as well supply a small shop. Many of the brands were familiar to me, it was a favorite subject of Suki, who would surely be in heaven with all this in front of her. I chose a pearled brown color (from what little I remembered that she used to recommend me) from an eyeshadow palette that would easily have 50 different shades. I didn't have her talent for makeup, but I could manage.</p><p>I had just finished putting on the red lipstick when I heard the helicopter land. My chest froze despite the warm air of the early fall night.</p><p>Should I go out to meet him? Was it better to call an employee to guide me to the dining room? Argh! It was so frustrating not knowing what to do!</p><p>There was a knock on the door, which effectively ended my dilemma.</p><p>"Good evening." When I opened, I found Zuko, in the tailored suit and dark red shirt that seemed to be his usual style, one hand behind his back in the posture I'd expect from a waiter. “Are you ready? For dinner?”</p><p>He looked as nervous as when we were alone in his suite.</p><p>"Is the boat yours?" I asked as I left the room. His step was firm, he seemed used to being in the sea.</p><p>"Technically, it’s my uncle’s," he replied as he led me on deck. There, in the opposite direction from where the helicopters landed, was a cabin set up as a dining room. Warm light filtered through the curtains. “We used to come here all the time after I...  we started coming when I was 13.”</p><p>He opened the door for me, as he had at the hotel. Seeing the scene inside, I stopped in my tracks. I was not prepared for that.</p><p>It was the full package: candles, a huge bouquet of red roses in the center of the table, a private violinist. My jaw dropped before I remembered to keep my composure.</p><p>He pulled back the chair for me to sit down. My heart fluttered in my chest. No matter the circumstance (well, it did matter, but this had to be taken into account), he had definitely put in a lot of effort to receive me.</p><p>And I hated him for it. I was running out of reasons to at least feign coldness to him.</p><p>A waiter came over to pour sparkling wine into our glasses.</p><p>"Um… it's a clear night." Zuko looked out the side window of the cabin, one whose open curtain allowed an ample view of the sea.</p><p>So we were going to talk about the weather. The violinist must be holding back his laughter.</p><p>“Where are we?” I took a sip from my glass, not responding to his bad attempt at conversation. Besides, that interested me.</p><p>"Er… the port there, through the window," he pointed to the constellation of lights, among which stood out a tall building, with a flashing light at the top, "is Kyoshi Island."</p><p>"We're not that far from home, then." I was surprised and almost immediately regretted what I said. I didn't want to mention anything about my own life, about my home, tonight. It was barely 20 minutes and I had already broken that goal. I was too comfortable around him and that couldn't be good.</p><p>"Are you from around here?" There was genuine interest in his eyes. A surprisingly gentle look for someone who had almost half his face covered in a scar.</p><p>"Yes, I was born in a village at the South Pole. Right the other direction to the port, the boat from Kyoshi to there takes less than five hours. It is not far.”</p><p>"So you don't live in Omashu." He looked at me over his glass.</p><p>“No. Do you?” I returned the question to avoid saying more about myself or Aang.</p><p>"I was born and raised in Caldera, but since then I've lived in many places." He didn't seem eager to talk about his life either.</p><p>The first course arrived, three small bread slices with different garnishes on top, and we lingered for a few minutes with the food. That gave me time to mentally slap myself: I was behaving like I was on a date, and no. It wasn't a date.</p><p><em> But is it that bad? The last time I went out with Aang on something like a date was my birthday last year. We always have so much work and it is so hard to coordinate times.. </em>.</p><p>I gave myself another mental slap. I was here because I wanted to change that. Everything would be better from the next morning on.</p><p>"I've been to the South Pole just once, several years ago. It wasn't… a lot of fun, we barely disembarked. What would you recommend me to do?” He asked when the main dish arrived, fish. He had no way of knowing, but somehow he got it right: halibut fish with pasta was one of my favorite dishes.</p><p>"Visiting as a tourist?" I sounded a bit drier than I intended. I softened my tone. “Well... besides fishing and walking in the snow, there are not many things to do. If you go in the correct season, you can see the southern aurora... Some groups are trying to recover the areas that contaminated the Fire Corp factories. They closed less than a year ago and some colonies of tigers-seals and penguins-otters have already been sighted.</p><p>"Oh…" He lost himself in thought and we finished the plate without another word. Dessert arrived, some balls of sweet dough with filling that left me wanting to ask for more; I didn't because I didn't want to be so full for the rest of the night that was coming up.</p><p>"I'd like you to accompany me outside," he said when the empty plates were removed. He reached out as if to take my hand, but in the end he didn't and I had to hold back an absurd sense of disappointment.</p><p>"As you wish." I tried to sound carefree and followed him; after all, he paid for that privilege. We stopped near the railing, looking at the silhouette of the city of Kyoshi. Now that I knew it <em> was </em> Kyoshi, I recognized more buildings. Especially the highest one. Suki had mentioned it, a couple of years ago it was a property scandal. Unsurprisingly, it belonged to the Fire Corp.</p><p>Zuko's voice brought me back to the present.</p><p>"I like being in the sea. Nights don't look this clear anywhere else.”</p><p>I said nothing. I loved the sea, but was trying to keep a distance… which was made difficult by the intensity of the look in the golden eyes. Much to my regret, it fascinated me.</p><p>The night had cooled and I seemed to feel the heat emanating from him. I stopped when I noticed what I was doing: I was leaning towards him as if to snuggle into his side. Instead, I hugged myself, which attracted his attention.</p><p>“Are you cold?” Before I could answer, he had already taken off his jacket and was putting it on my shoulders. The warm fabric enveloped me with a woody scent, and other components that I couldn’t name, that was undoubtedly masculine.</p><p>"Thank you." My voice was strangled. Too many sensations, and the urge to get close to him almost overwhelms me.</p><p>He looked at me out of the corner of his scarless eye. From that angle, it was easy to imagine him without any scar at all...</p><p>The lights in the Fire Corp. building suddenly went out, leaving only the red blink of the tip. Although many other small buildings still had their lights on, the difference felt as if it had darkened again.</p><p>"The moon looks better this way." He gave me a lopsided smile with a hint of pride.</p><p>"Did you arrange this?" I raised an eyebrow. He had to be very influential to achieve something like that. His smile disappeared.</p><p>“Yes. It's a… company building. From the family company, you might say,” he said quietly. I widened my eyes.</p><p>“Family company?”</p><p>The implication was too terrible to put into words. He was one of <em> them </em>? Of those who had destroyed everything?</p><p>"Yes… the National Fire Corporation, founded by my grandfather." His back stiffened.</p><p>I trembled. I couldn't contain the words that had poisoned me for years.</p><p>“Why? Why did you do it? Did you all enjoy the pain of others?” Tears blurred my vision. I took off his jacket and tossed it to the ground. “Your damned company caused so much damage… it exterminated the air nomads. The pollution nearly wiped out my people... it poisoned my mother. It was what killed her.”</p><p>My hand closed over the pendant on my necklace. He was the faceless enemy that had haunted me my whole life.</p><p>For a few seconds, the only sound was my heavy breathing.</p><p>"The scar was made by my father," I heard him whisper next to me. “It's another reason why he went to jail. For this reason and because he "disappeared" my mother. So at least we have that in common.”</p><p>I wiped away my tears and looked him in the eye. There was pain in them as raw as mine; it was a flicker of suffering as great and deep as my family's. But to him, it had been inflicted by his own father...</p><p>I tried to regain control of my emotions. On an impulse that I didn't stop to think, I reached up to his scar, rough and slightly hardened. He did not move.</p><p>I recognized it, even in the midst of this absurd situation: he had suffered, as had I.</p><p>The moment passed and he withdrew my hand from his face. His hand was warm.</p><p>"My father hurt a lot of people. My whole family has done a lot of damage, actually. I am trying to change it as quickly as I can… It’s been only a year since I took over the company and there is so much to do. There are still many people loyal to my father among the shareholders and that hinders everything. They even tried to kill me once.” He smiled humorlessly.</p><p>I bit my lip.</p><p>“Is that…?” I didn't know how to finish that question. After the shock, I was able to think more carefully: if he had been in power for a year, he was the one who shut down the polluting factories at the South Pole and had handled other similar matters. He… seemed like a good person, despite being the son of who he was. “I'm sorry I yelled at you.”</p><p>"It doesn't matter." The tension seemed to leave his shoulders.</p><p>"In that case ...friends?" I tried to smile.</p><p>He looked at me with bright eyes. His hand was still holding mine.</p><p>"That is much more than I dared to hope for." He leaned over to lift his jacket and silently asked to put it back on my shoulders. I nodded and took the lapels to wrap myself better.</p><p>A bang startled me. On the shore, a burst of color bloomed above the harbor, followed by another and another. Fireworks.</p><p>"Oh!" The whistles continued to spread color, red, green, and blue fireworks that hissed as they rose to light up the night. They glowed in a cloud of brilliant sparks that did not die out before others came to replace them.</p><p>“You like them?” Overwhelmed by a sudden shyness, I blushed as if to match the color of my dress. Had he done it too? especially for me?</p><p>I nodded wordlessly. He raised a hand as if to put it on my shoulder, but stayed halfway between us. Finally, he leaned toward me.</p><p>"I'm sorry for being... I don't blame you if you don't want to... You know. Don't feel obligated to anything,” he whispered next to my ear. “I mean it… Tonight I won't do anything you don't want. Just say it.” As he pulled away, his skin brushed my cheek. The light touch took my breath away. I couldn't deny it. I wanted him, a yearning desire that left my knees shaking and my heart racing the way I'd never felt before. Not even the circus of emotions and revelations had changed the reality that I noticed back when I was in the helicopter.</p><p>To try to calm the frantic pounding in my chest, I turned my eyes back to the fireworks show, which I suddenly couldn't give my full attention to. I was too aware of the man next to me, how his gaze did not leave my face until several seconds after I had turned.</p><p>Yes, I wanted him. I wondered how it would feel to kiss him, if the rest of his body was as warm as his hand, if his hair between my fingers would be as soft as it seemed…</p><p>Not even thinking about Aang completely turned off the heat that was building in my belly. So what if Zuko had given me a chance to decide? Aang wouldn't ever find out, he already knew what the contract stipulated. I would spend this one night with Zuko, and tomorrow I would return to my husband's arms, never to speak of it again. As if it never happened. There was no need for me to hold back.</p><p>I barely noticed when the last firework burst, purple, and silence engulfed the next few seconds. Until the touch of a warm hand on my arm left a fiery trail and sent my heart racing again. There was no strength in the hand that touched me; it was a caress.</p><p>When Zuko brought her face close to mine, his golden eyes blazed with fire of their own: half a question and half a reflection of my own desire. A heartbeat later, I was the one who closed the small gap between us to kiss him, throwing my arms behind his neck to prevent him from pulling away.</p><p>His movements lost all hesitation: he lifted me off the floor and leaned me against one of the walls. His hands burned my skin through the dress as he caressed my back, my waist, my thighs that subconsciously parted to allow him to get closer to me.</p><p>I moved my hip slightly, earning a groan from his part. His mouth dropped to my jaw and then down to the shoulder that the dress revealed, pulling his jacket out of the way to kiss my skin. I groaned until I couldn't take it anymore; I took his face between my hands and returned it to my lips.</p><p>"You're so beautiful," he whispered in my ear between more kisses. “I can't believe… Is it a yes?</p><p>"If you ask again, it will turn into a no," I gasped. My heart beat against my ribs and I was ecstatic to find that he was as warm and his hair as soft as I expected.</p><p>I felt the vibration of his laughter and <em> heard </em> it, a low sound but so full of joy it was hard to believe it came from him.</p><p>"In that case..." With one hand on my waist and the other behind my knees, he lifted me up and carried me downstairs, to a different room from where I had dressed.</p><p>There weren't candles, but all the lights were dim and there were more flowers on every surface in the room. One of the last coherent chinks within me pointed out that it was a scent of roses and sea breeze and that all of this seemed like a honeymoon movie scene.</p><p>He left me on the bed and half fell on top of me, kissing me again. My fingers were clumsy as I struggled with the buttons of his shirt, then passed my hands over his chest as he unzipped the dress, which had worried me so much before.</p><p>I erased from my mind everything that was not his lips and his hands, because I was determined to enjoy the night.</p><p>It would be the only one I would have with him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks everyone for reading and to rahidas04 for betaing! :D</p><p>Do you all like the story so far? Leave a comment below :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Beifong Bank</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Jet forced me to go back to my room, I spent the entire night raising and lowering the electric curtain, one of the most modern devices that the hotel prized itself on in the brochure I read the first night.</p><p>Jet stayed a while to accompany me, so we could talk without the deafening noise of the musical spectacle with a lousy tsungi horn player. He told me that Zuko wouldn't dare do anything to Katara, that the contract protected her.</p><p>"And if he does something to her, I'll make sure to end him. Completely,” he assured me with a dangerous look.</p><p>Still, he left when it became clear that I wouldn't be able to sleep.</p><p>The lights off made obvious the gradual advance of the dawn light slowly engulfing the night. It felt like hours since I saw the first rays of the sun through the window, but it was still less than seven. The contract gave a margin until nine in the morning, subject to "security conditions for transport." It was dependent on traffic and weather, because of his stupid helicopters.</p><p>When I raised the electric curtain for the umpteenth time, I didn't see a single cloud. Like the 200 times I had done it before. So there would be no reason for her to be late… right?</p><p>I heard the door open and every cell in my body became alert.</p><p>Slow, unsure steps, approached muffled by the carpet.</p><p>Katara stood near the door, frozen like a cat-deer in the headlights of a car.</p><p>In a couple of long steps I was already in front of my wife and I drank from her image. The weight that had crushed me all night was lifted as if by magic. She survived the night with that man.</p><p>“Are you okay?” I murmured a little shakily, waiting for her confirmation.</p><p>My wife nodded and looked me in the eye. She seemed about to cry.</p><p>"He's the son of Ozai Azulon," I hesitated, still without the courage to touch her. She nodded again.</p><p>"He told me." That surprised and slightly impressed me, much to my regret.</p><p>"Did he do something to you?" I examined her from top to bottom. In response, she shook her head.</p><p>She had a small stain of red lipstick at the corner of her lip. I withdrew it with one hand before hugging her with as much force as I could. I heard a sob when she hugged me back.</p><p>"It's over…" I murmured when I felt her tears on my neck. “Everything will be fine now.”</p><p>I didn't stop holding her until the sobs subsided. By that time, the sun was already up in the sky.</p><p>"Thank you," she separated from me. I took an artistically folded tissue from the hotel box. She blew his nose.</p><p>"Thank <em> you </em>." I had loved her blue eyes since I met her and would give anything not to see them cry. Ironically, this time I was the direct cause. “This means everything to me.”</p><p>She finished drying her eyes with another tissue and squeezed her bag tightly.</p><p>"Did you pack everything?" Instead of answering her, I proudly showed her the packed suitcase. I didn't manage to fold everything right, but it closed and I was ready to go right away… as soon as she arrived.</p><p>She headed for the door and I thought I heard a sigh as we closed the door behind our backs.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Despite my exhaustion, the bus’s seat was too narrow and uncomfortable for me to sleep. My husband didn’t have such qualms, and fell asleep almost immediately with my hand in his.</p><p>The hours of travel dragged on in a sleepless haze that left me more tired than being fully awake. There were many confusing images: roses, fireworks, the sea in the early hours of the morning. Zuko when he said goodbye to me before I got on the helicopter.</p><p>
  <em> I didn't want to leave. </em>
</p><p>And possibly… no, I most <em> definitely </em>was a monster for that. With all the love my husband had for me, even thinking about such a thing was unforgivable. One more tear ran down my cheek, without my knowing if it was due to frustration or guilt. Fortunately, my husband was still asleep and unable to witness it.</p><p>Somehow, the uncomfortable twelve hours of the bus finally ended and we took a taxi back home. Seeing our front yard appear at the end of the street, it felt like it had been away for months. It had only been three nights... <em> but what nights </em>, I muttered exhausted.</p><p>As soon as I was inside the house, I flopped down on the couch.</p><p>"I'm going to pick up Appa." My husband didn't close the door. We had left Appa with a neighbor, and they must both be eager to see each other. “Wanna come along? Fresh air would do you good.”</p><p>"I'm a little tired." An embarrassing question arose in my mind: How long would it have taken Omashu's journey back to our house in Chin City, if we had gone by helicopter? Even if I wanted to forget it immediately, I would need a little more time to settle back into life as usual.</p><p>"I'll be back soon." My husband gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving and I did my best not to tense up. I had no idea how to behave.</p><p>Once I was alone, I sighed and leaned against the wall. The last thing I wanted to do was make it harder than it already was for him.</p><p>I touched my lips. Twenty-four hours earlier, I was kissing Zuko. <em> Of my own free will, </em> the thought hammered and fluttered around me whenever I saw a photograph of me with Aang on the walls, with each object speaking of a memory together.</p><p>"It was just one night. It's over and we won't talk about it again,” I muttered to myself as I prepared to sleep. “Aang knew and agreed.”</p><p>I just hoped that with a little time, I would stop talking about it with myself.</p><p>I heard Appa barking and my husband serving him dinner. The familiar sounds lulled me enough to calm the turmoil in my mind.</p><p>Still, when Aang came into our room and lay down next to me, I was sure that the kiss he gently placed on my forehead was not a dream.</p><p>The alarm clock rang, apparently a second after I fell asleep. The first thing I felt was my back sore from the bus ride. Still, I was glad and blessed the routine as I took refuge in the memorized movements of the morning preparations.</p><p>My boss, much more understanding than I would have thought, extended my leave the extra day we need to... well, even though we now had a million yuan minus 5% of Jet for his Freedom Fighters bar, I couldn't pay him by just quitting my job. Besides, I wasn't going to quit while Aang and I didn't decide how to spend the rest of the money after the mortgage was paid.</p><p>"See you in the afternoon," I said goodbye with a quick kiss as he finished breakfast. The kisses were coming more naturally than I expected and that was comforting.</p><p>"I'll drop by for you when you go out," Appa demanded her farewell caress as well. To go to the bank together.</p><p>"Okay, see you at the door," I smiled at him with genuine joy. This was the end of a nightmare of financial hardship.</p><p>I walked the two blocks to the bus stop and found a seat for the ride. The wind was already a bit cold. It seemed that this year we would have an early winter.</p><p>That same wind accompanied me when I fought against the glass door and entered the office building where Mr. Tong's office was, where I worked.</p><p>"Katara! How was your vacation?” Song, my co-worker, greeted me with great enthusiasm. We both understood each other quite well... she wanted to study medicine and this job was a sad "for a while" that had already lasted several years.</p><p>"All excellent," I forced a smile back. The less detail I gave away, the better. “Omashu is a very beautiful city.”</p><p>"And so full of celebrities! Didn't you find anyone to ask for an autograph?” Her enthusiasm made me squirm in discomfort as I put my coat on the rack.</p><p>"Not really," I murmured, thinking of a handwritten card in my wallet. It wasn't an autograph, nor was the person who gave it to me <em> exactly </em> a celebrity. Did it count?</p><p>"Welcome back, Mrs. Katara." My boss approached us with his usual pompous gait.</p><p>"Thank you very much, Mr. Tong," I settled behind my desk.</p><p>"Here’s the work you missed. Try to finish between today and tomorrow.” He placed a pile of sheets at least 12 inches high in front of me.</p><p>"Of course, Mr. Tong." I had a sudden desire to punch his weak chin. It seemed like he was going to charge me for the day of leave by giving me part of his own workload.</p><p>Song gave me a resigned look and a supportive pat on one hand before turning to her own work.</p><p>Too many hours later, I left the office, totally exhausted and with my fingers clenched by the keyboard. Aang was already at the door, waiting for me to come out. He offered me a rose, which I had not seen in his hand. The gesture made me smile above a new wave of guilt over my thoughts from the day before.</p><p>"Come on, K," he took my hand and with his usual jacket (which I didn't understand why he didn't freeze, if it was such a light garment and we were so far south) he faced the cold air without much concern.</p><p>The Beifong bank branch office we always went to was just a few minutes' walk from my work, so we were there almost immediately. The receptionist forced a smile upon greeting us. I didn't blame her, I wouldn't want to see us either after the time Aang insisted on bringing Appa who, unaccustomed to crowded spaces, knocked over a glass table and smashed it.</p><p>"Have a seat please, Mr. Shi Tong will see you in a moment."</p><p>I took out of my bag the paper with the details of the account to which they had deposited the million yuan. Minus Jet's commission, there were 950,000 left. We would not use even half to pay off the debt, counting what we had already covered and because paying at once would free us from a good amount of interest.</p><p>"Come in," Mr. Shi Tong's secretary told us. I put the paper back in my bag and followed my husband into the office.</p><p>"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Yangchen." He shook hands with us, the brief, loose grip I remembered from every time we saw him. “Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you this afternoon.”</p><p>My husband cleared his throat.</p><p>"We have a mortgage and we got some unexpected money. We come to liquidate it.”</p><p>"Ah, it seems like a big stroke of luck… give me a few minutes to go get your file." Mr. Shi Tong got nimbly to his feet and headed for the wall behind him, packed with file cabinets from floor to ceiling.</p><p>My heart was racing. At last it was time. By getting rid of debt, we would not only have the Temple and my husband's book, but with good management, leave that depressing office job for good and maybe even go to college. The future seemed like a paradise.</p><p>"Here it is." Mr. Shi Tong returned to his chair and placed a thick folder on the table. “Let's see… In the year 106, that is to say four years ago, you mortgaged a 5-hectare site, fenced, with a single construction. Of historical value…”</p><p>"Yes." My husband nodded impatiently, but said nothing more.</p><p>"You got a 500,000 yuan loan at 15% annual interest. Unfortunately you were late with payments a couple of times…”</p><p>"Yes," he admitted reluctantly. I didn't like remembering the loan process either, it must have been much more painful for him. “We asked for a suspension of payments three months ago, because unforeseen events arose…”</p><p>"I see." Mr. Shi Tong's face looked like marble, so pale his black eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. The pointed nose did not soften his grim expression one iota. “I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Mr. Yangchen.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” I frowned. Would we have to pay any compensation for the delay? We had enough money, but it was still bad news.</p><p>"The suspension is overdue." Great, a penalty for non-payment. With how much it would cost to repair the historic building, I could see my idea of going back to college quickly fading.</p><p>"It must have been my mistake," Aang said hastily, "go ahead with the process and we'll pay the extra."</p><p>"That won't be possible." The color drained from my face. “Unfortunately, the property is no longer in our possession.”</p><p>If I had turned pale, my husband was livid. It was I who came forward to speak.</p><p>“What? You already sold it?” I planted both of my hands on the banker's desk. “We asked for an extension of the deadline! And we’re bringing the money!”</p><p>“So sorry. The extension was finished the day before yesterday at eight o'clock at night.” He adjusted his glasses, without my outburst affecting him in the least. “According to the internal regulations of the Beifong bank, it was put on the market yesterday at ten in the morning. We received an offer at 1:00 pm and the sale and purchase procedures began yesterday afternoon.”</p><p>"Who is the buyer?" My husband asked in an inhumanly calm voice. I pulled away. “Tell me. Now.”</p><p>"I'm afraid that information is confidential."</p><p>"TELL ME!" He hit the desk hard enough to drop some papers and all the pens.</p><p>"Sir, if you don't calm down, I'll be forced to call Security," Shi Tong replied, narrowing his eyes.</p><p>"I JUST WANT THE NAME! I HAVE TO TALK TO THAT PERSON!” The last thing that would happen would be for him to calm down. When he got so mad, it scared me… it had only happened a couple of times, but it was terrifying.</p><p>"Leave. There's nothing else I can do for you.” He didn't even get up from the desk, but he must have pressed a button, because a couple of uniformed security men opened the door and one of them reached out to take Aang by the arm.</p><p>"LET ME GO!" He shook them off like nothing. “You don't get it, I won't leave until I know! You scammed us, you sold my property!”</p><p>Mr. Shi Tong just blinked as security dragged Aang out of his office. I froze where I was standing, but before another of the guards grabbed my arm to pull me out, I moved myself, not forgetting to give Mr. Shi Tong one last murderous look.</p><p>"Don't come to this bank! They are scammers and they will cheat on you too!” I heard Aang's yell from the hallway and ran to catch up with him, the two more guards on our heels. I was not conscious of going down the stairs, replaying the scene in my mind over and over again, in the secret hope of waking up and seeing that it was a nightmare. The money we had was completely useless... and everything we had to go through to get it made me want to collapse on the ground.</p><p>Once outside, it seemed that all of my husband's anger was gone and despite his height he looked helpless and exhausted. I hugged him.</p><p>"We'll think of something," I whispered, not quite sure.</p><p>"Think what, K? There's nothing left to do.” He hunched over. “I lost it. The only inheritance of my people, of Gyatso, is no longer…”</p><p>"The inheritance is yourself," I raised my voice. “The traditions you learned, the stories you know. All the drawings for the Air Nomads book. As long as you are there, they will not have disappeared.”</p><p>I saw in his eyes that he was grateful for the words, but not that those words had really helped. We returned to the house in silence.</p><p>It was dark and neither of us had much appetite. Still, we pretended to have dinner before going to sleep.</p><p>I squirmed in bed, restless. At a certain point, my husband stopped pretending he would sleep and went to his study, leaving me alone.</p><p>The warm light from his study filtered under the door; the moonlight coming through the window was cold. It reminded me of the South Pole and Gran Gran. With a heavy sigh, I sat up.</p><p>What could I do? The promise should not be empty.</p><p>There weren't many possibilities. I knew someone in the real estate business who might help me figure out who had bought the Air Temple. It was a piece of land with a historic building, of high value… there weren't that many people able to buy it. I hoped so, at least.</p><p>First, find the buyer, explain why we wanted -no, we <em> needed </em> the property back and offer them all the money. Hopefully the explanation would move them enough to agree to resell it for less than what they had paid for.</p><p>That was the best plan I had.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again, surnames that do not exist in the canon. I wanted to make a parallel between Aang's angry episodes and the Avatar State, being a world without magic or spirits. </p><p>Until next week and thank you so much for your comments, readings, and bookmarks!</p><p>(Special thanks to rahidas04 for her editing! Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me how much she improves each chapter TToTT)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. North Real Estate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>How blue was the sky without clouds. But not as blue as her eyes…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I already knew it looked wonderful in navy blue and red. How about green? Or… in another shade of red with gold, the colors of a traditional wedding dress, like the one in my grandfather Roku's wedding photograph.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello? Earth to Zuzu!” Ty Lee waved her hand in front of my eyes, she had caught me staring into space for too long. “There are still some matters to review.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?" I struggled to return to the present, to the new papers she left on my table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I need some signatures for the new company policies. Oh, and the signing of the bill from last week, which by the way you haven't told me yet what the hell you spent 7 million on at once,” she said with some impatience. Then her gesture softened. “Just these signatures and you can go back to daydream about Katara.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt strange hearing the name that I thought so much about from someone else's lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I signed my name on the papers, a little distracted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks Ty, I don't know what I'd do without you." I dropped the pen, which fell to my desk with a clatter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lose the company, probably." She shrugged and took the papers away. “And impress no girl.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I blushed. She was absolutely right. Had she been there to advise me during my relationship with Jin, we might not have broken up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Without you and your excellent advice, of course."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Agni, it was the most generic advice in the world. Not all girls like dahlias and black roses.” She smiled the way she always did when he mentioned something related to his girlfriend Mai, who happened to be my ex as well. “You need to know a lot more about her if you want that to progress.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing would make me happier: I wanted to know everything about Katara. Her favorite flowers. The colors she liked. If in the morning she preferred tea or coffee, if she added cream and sugar or not. What she liked to do in the afternoons, what was her favorite food, if she had a pet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And to see a smile like the one she had while sleeping in my arms that morning, I would repeat dinner and flowers and fireworks every day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The longing to see her was almost a physical pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If I could just call her." I buried my face in my hands. I had given her my card, with the direct phone numbers of the offices where he spent the most time and even the mansion that was officially my home, where I barely spent a few nights a month. She, on the other hand, gave me no way to contact her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You did your best, Zuzu," Ty Lee knew and patted me on the back before sitting down next to me. “Give it a little more time, how long has it been? Less than two weeks?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nine days," I answered between my fingers, still leaning on my hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't lose hope, it's still early. Also, your aura was completely golden the day you returned. Fate will not deprive you of something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden noise in the entrance of my office caught the attention of both.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's up, Spice King?" Toph opened the door with his usual delicacy. Which means she almost knocked it down with a kick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Tranquility, until you arrived," I replied without trying to hide the smile in my voice when I saw her familiar headband and high hairstyle, next to the dog with a harness on her left side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I see I leave you in good hands. Until later, Miss Beifong.” Ty Lee left the office with the same energy as ever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bye," Toph answered without ceremony as she sat up and put her feet up on the couch. “Badgermole, up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her guide dog obeyed instantly and climbed in with her, where she settled on her companion's legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And? Won't you offer me something to drink?” I had already stood up and was opening the minibar, which I kept well stocked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I have the same fifteen soda flavors I always have." I got a mango one for myself and a moon peach one for Toph, the one she always drank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nothing more exciting?" She pretended to despair. I knew she wasn't really trying to get alcohol of any kind, but she said the same thing every visit. “You’re worse than my parents. Still those poor souls believe that you are a bad influence on their helpless blind daughter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I handed her the soda and she gulped the soft drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Difficult day?” I sat up and drank more slowly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You don't say. They insist on swimming lessons. I hate swimming. I was about to throw something at my father to silence his hideous condescension. I better came to visit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"At least they let you go to Omashu with me," I commented. The alliance between the Fire Corp. and the Beifong Bank was beneficial to both sides.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That doesn't count, they still think that you will suddenly decide to marry me. No thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I laughed softly. Her absolute sincerity was refreshing and one of the reasons we got along so well. However, after that, I said nothing and the silence lasted for a few minutes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something is worrying you and your tense silence does not let me enjoy my soda in peace. Talk at once, it will do you good to get it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I sighed. She had a way of knowing even the things I wanted to hide, and I knew it would be useless to try to distract her attention once she had caught a hint.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's... the girl from Omashu," I gave up and spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I should’ve known." She covered her eyes with one hand. “Let's see, drop it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Before she left I gave him my phone numbers." Nine days have passed and still nothing. “I know it's too early, but I don't know if I should expect something or not…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She seemed to think for a moment, which was rare for her. It made me hopeful about what she was going to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If she calls you, you might just stay as friends. Are you aware of that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The immediate answer, that with being her friend it would already be a great fortune, died on my lips. No, I wanted more and it was useless to fool myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is that what you want to happen?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then what you want is for her to be with you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes." There was no other word for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You said she's married. It's easy: you just have to show her that you are better than the one she has now.” Toph said it nonchalantly, as if it were about a not very interesting round of wrestling. “Prepare your attack and when she calls… zap!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not sure she’ll call." That was the true cross of the dilemma. To keep hope or not?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She will, Spice King, she will." She smiled enigmatically. “You are not a suitor that shows up every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her answer did not reassure me at all. Something kept bothering me and I couldn't put it into words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I hope it's soon, or you'll be more unbearable than usual." She set her empty soda on the table next to the chair. “Come on, I'm in the mood for some street dumplings and then I'm not saying no to a cup of tea from your uncle’s shop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I followed her and tried to take my mind to other trails. Anyway, somewhere in the back of my mind, Katara was still there. Ty Lee was my source of recommendations (practical, because my uncle rarely said things that could be applied immediately), but I was not going to throw Toph's advice on deaf ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Prepare my attack, indeed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After more than a week of forced labor in which Mr. Tong continued to leave piles and piles of “delayed work”, it was only that afternoon that I managed to leave the office in good time. I hurried to catch the bus that would take me to the North Real Estate building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The secretary recognized me. Thanks to the late hour in the afternoon, there were no customers waiting their turn, and she immediately let me into Yue's small office.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi Yue," I greeted, leaning on her door. She looked exhausted, but she smiled anyway and motioned for me to come in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We haven't seen each other in a long time," she said when I sat down at her table. I never returned your call, I'm so sorry. How have you been?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"As far as possible, fine." It was easier than explaining everything. “And you? How is the real estate market going?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A lot of work, you know. They started to build a new complex on the outskirts and gave us the presale. They don't even let us breathe…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's good that work is going well." I kept moving my fingers and fiddled with my mother's necklace. I could not avoid it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is everything good?” Yue immediately detected my unease. I sighed. I was not distinguished by my subtlety.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Aang and I have a problem and I thought maybe you could help us. It has to do with the Air Temple.” I squeezed my hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You know that if it's in my power, of course." She smiled at me with a sincerity as bright as her hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I breathed deeply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We missed the mortgage payment and the bank sold the property." Yue covered her mouth with her hands. “They refused to tell us who bought it. It's a notorious enough property for you to… maybe be able to find out something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Near the end of the sentence, my voice was practically a plea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's…" She pursed her lips. “It’s difficult for me, if North Real Estate did not help in the transaction I will not have information. If they did, it is a violation of the privacy of customers to give their data to a third party…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Please, it's a desperate situation," I implored. “It's the most important thing to Aang and me. All that remains of the air nomads.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She closed her eyes. I was about to convince her and I smiled inside, careful not to let it show in my gesture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, I'll check the database, in gratitude." My husband and I received her in our house when she fled from Hahn, the fiancé her family got her for what they called "financial reasons." When Yue left, she stayed with us for almost a month, while she looked for a job and a place for herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You're the best!” I almost knelt before her. “Aang and I have some money, but they had already bought the property when we wanted to pay our mortgage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, yeah. Better not tell me anything, so I won't be able to answer if my boss asks something. You are lucky that it is such a characteristic property, they cannot blame me for being curious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll buy you dinner." We hadn't taken a penny out of the nearly million yuan bank account, so my funds were a bit limited. “Tomorrow night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Same place as always?" She pretended to grumble. I nodded in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you. We owe you one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it. A hug to Aang from me.” She said goodbye, waving a hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the way back home, there was a lightness inside me that I hadn't felt in the last two weeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Upon arrival, I tossed my purse on the couch before Appa leaped over me in an effusive welcome greeting. Judging from the closed door to Aang's study with the sign of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Concentration Space</span>
  </em>
  <span> with a little smiley face, Appa's would be the only greeting I’d be getting today. If I managed to get him out to the dining room for some dinner, I could give him the good news that Yue had agreed to try to find out who bought the Temple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Easy, easy. Why are you so nervous?” I murmured as I stroked Appa's warm head. He whimpered a little and seemed to point to Aang's door. “I'm worried too, boy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe it would be better to tell him until I had the buyer's name. If I raised his hopes and then something happened, it would be a lot worse than not telling him for another day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was still too early to start making dinner, and the last thing I wanted was to sweep the rooms, the other pending chore. Maybe I could take the time to call Gran Gran… or Suki, but since I still hadn't revealed Omashu's events to her or to my brother, I preferred not to have to watch my words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All week I debated the possibility of telling everything to Gran Gran. But each call ended with the usual innocuous topics, as Aang was always close, he may listen. And I wanted to keep the promise never to mention him again between us. On the other hand, if I didn't talk to Gran Gran about </span>
  <em>
    <span>the events</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what else could I tell her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I feel alone. Nothing is going well.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, I felt like I could confide in her. She would listen, which was what I needed the most right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I called her often enough that my fingers found the pattern of numbers without having to look. I looked out the window while the connection waiting tone sounded in my ear. One, two, three. Four beeps. She must have gone out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a sigh, I hung up and was surprised when I saw Aang at the entrance of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who did you call?" Were his first words, his eyes narrowed and his voice almost accusing, cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Gran Gran," I replied, taken aback by his tone. “I didn't want to bother you, you had the sign on the door.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you." Somehow, it felt like sarcasm. He stared at me. “And what does Gran Gran has to say?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nothing, I couldn't reach her. I will call again later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You were late today," he observed with a sharp look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I mentioned that Mr. Tong gave me extra work." I made an effort to control my growing irritation. Was he jealous? Or what was the matter with him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My husband groaned, apparently noticing without my help how irrational his attitude was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry. These days have been... sorry. My head aches a little, I'm going to lie down for a while.” He turned to go back to the corridor that led to his study and our room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get some rest. I'll let you know when the food is ready,” I said to his back as Appa followed him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stood up and with a heavy sigh, began with the familiar movements in the kitchen: take out the pot, the ingredients, chop the vegetables...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The brief encounter with my husband left me exhausted. Staying around Aang drained my energy in a matter of minutes. There were only two options: either he was tiptoeing around me, his voice soft as if I was going to break with a loud noise, or he was looking at me with that almost rancorous coldness of the previous moment. And in any case, he was always ignoring whatever I was trying to tell him. I felt a chill remembering the third night at home, when he insisted on checking that she wasn't hurt. I appreciated his concern, he loved me. It was simply that I needed a little more space to feel comfortable in intimacy with him again… I needed some space to sort out my residual emotions from </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once everything was ready, I called him for dinner and he left the room with weary steps. He sat down in front of his plate without another word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I won't be coming to dinner tomorrow," I announced with feigned calm and saw him tense immediately. “I'm going with Yue to the Jasmine Dragon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Very well." And he continued eating the soup, a vegetarian version of the fish soup my grandmother made. I had to make it in two different pots, because I found Aang's version insufferably bland without the fish. “Say hi to her for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Those were the last words he spoke to me until "good morning" the next day. I felt guilty about the relief I felt when I left for work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After my light lunch in the employee lounge, I spent the entirety of my afternoon hours in a state of constant agitation and unable to concentrate. If Yue wasn't able to obtain information, I would have very few resources left to find out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Almost the second the clock ticked out, I darted out the door to head to my and Yue's favorite place: the only branch of the “Jasmine Dragon” tea shop in Chin City. Unlike other franchises, this one had a reputation for maintaining the quality of the parent company in Ba Sing Se. That good reputation was one of the reasons why I wanted to visit the great walled city one day; another was more of a dream: for the prestige of their university.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A table for two, please," I smiled at the waiter and took a seat in a cabinet, then dedicated myself to watching the window for Yue's trademark platinum hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ten minutes it took her to appear and seemed eternal to me. When I saw her walk past the glass and she came in, I motioned for her to sit opposite me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They must be about to bring our drinks, I ordered the usual teas," I greeted with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you." She settled into her seat and carefully folded the scarf that revealed her neck, which she had never adorned with necklaces since she began living alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I let her breathe for a moment, wondering how to approach my request again. She saved me the trouble by taking a couple of sheets of paper with pencil notes out of her purse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I was lucky, you can't imagine. One of my colleagues has a client who recommended him to someone important and was the one who worked that sale. He was publicly congratulated at this week's meeting. No one thought my questions were weird and everyone was so happy they didn't notice I took out these copies of the documents.” She smiled proudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before I could thank her again, she put the sheets in front of me and pointed to some underlined lines.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Look, it was someone called Mr. Fong who bought it. He seems like someone influential in the Earth Kingdom, with relationships within Beifong bank. North Real Estate came in when Mr. Fong resold it later last week. That second buyer was someone named Zuko Ta-Min.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world spun around me and it took me a moment to focus on the letters again. Him? Why would he have bought Aang's land? He couldn't know, could he? We didn't mention anything at the hotel, and I didn't mention it that night on his yacht either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I squeezed the sheet between my hands, crumpling it. Yes, Zuko's name was clear as day, printed on the copy of the transaction. Mr. Fong bought it from the bank for 5 million, Zuko paid 7. And I, with the meager less than a million that he himself had given us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's not possible that he knew the land was Aang's, right?" I licked my lips. My mouth was dry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, the bank wouldn't say it." Yue frowned. “Why do you ask that? Do you know one of them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that, our teacups arrived and I had a moment to organize my thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, it could be said that we know Mr. Ta-Min.” Wouldn't Zuko know from Gyatso's lawsuit against his father? The one that gave Gyatso the land in the first place. He could have found out Aang's last name from the hotel register.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We lingered for a few minutes to order our dishes, but Yue looked at me with open concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did something happen that you're not telling me?" I bit my lip and his expression immediately became even more concerned. “Of course it happened, can I help with something? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I gave up. I needed to tell someone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At first I had a hard time finding the words. My tongue tangled, I had to go back to explain the details. The expiring mortgage, the desperate trip to Omashu, Cab's proposal, the contract, and the night on the yacht.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yue understood and took my hand with a sad smile. After all, she had been willing to marry Hahn to save her family from ruin. The problem was that it was a lie: they weren't bankrupt, they just wanted more money. So Yue escaped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My house specialty roast duck sandwich and Yue's bowl of noodles arrived. Focusing on food allowed me to regain control of myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What you did was very generous." She took a sip of tea. An innate elegance that I sometimes envied seeped into everything she did. “And brave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tremor ran through me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wasn't generous." She looked at me curiously. “Not generous at all. I liked spending the night with him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You had no way of knowing that you'd like it before agreeing. That was generous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I didn't have an argument against what she was saying and closed my mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And… is he handsome?" A spark of mischief crept into Yue's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, a lot." I evoked her angular features, soft hair, and strong muscles that I could appreciate once he had removed her shirt. I hadn't allowed myself to think about it and it was a balm for my nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I see. What about the rest?" The insinuation that accompanied Yue's smile made me blush even more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It was…" With Zuko, there was no perpetual gentleness from Aang, who treated me like glass when we were together. Zuko wasn't rough, but he didn't seem to fear that I would break in his arms and I allowed myself to use a little more force by holding onto him as he moved inside me “… different.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Distracted by the feeling in my gut, I barely noticed the last look Yue gave me. I couldn't read it before he changed it for the usual sweet and calm gesture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"From what you say, there won't be so much trouble getting the Temple back."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That brought me back to reality. It was true… I still had his card in my wallet. The card with phone numbers to contact him, and explain him. Everything looked easier now that I knew it was Zuko.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything seemed easier, except telling my husband.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I said goodbye to Yue at the tea shop door and took another bus back home. The excuse of not knowing the buyer's name was over. But I could talk to my husband until I had agreed on something with Zuko, I argued to myself as the night city passed by the window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, I would tell him once I knew what was going to happen... for Aang's reassurance.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Halloween and Día de Muertos!</p>
<p>I couldn't resist the temptation to put Yue on ... and she will keep popping up :D Another thing, I've read Toph calling Zuko "Spice King" so many times that I no longer know if it comes from canon or is only in the fanfics. As I like it, it’s integrated in here too. Thank you very much for your comments, follows and favorites :’3</p>
<p>Also, a QUESTION. Now, I have an important question to ask you (and I should have put it last week, I think. Oops): this NaNoWriMo I will write my 50,000 words for another fanfic. Zutara, you can imagine. But I have two projects, a similar level of enthusiasm for both, and I don't know which one to start first.</p>
<p>a. Another modern AU, with a wary and millionaire Zuko under the false identity of Lee and maybe a yacht, but a different story (quite different) from this one. Also with a lot more Ember Island.</p>
<p>b. An AU more similar to the series (kind of; Ozai is semi-equivalent to Napoleon) with bending, but without Avatar (Aang is still around, don't worry) and where I rearmed families with the canon characters (many changes, truly).</p>
<p>Both would belong to the Romance / Drama genres (like the present story). The winning option will be written (at least a large part) during November and it would begin to be published in mid-December ^_^ Leave me a comment with your preferred option and what you think! Suggestions for this story are still accepted, because I'm afraid there is still a good stretch left...</p>
<p>And huge thanks to rahidas04 for her work! She rocks!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chin City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I dipped my brush back into the ink pot and put the final touch on the drawing, my tongue between my teeth and my other hand on my chin. I was starting to grow a beard, maybe it was time to stop shaving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked at the finished painting: a scene from the air nomad monks. It was a re-elaboration of the drawings that Gyatso had left me, which I was compiling for my book "The Art of the Air Nomads." The pile was already of a respectable thickness. Even if the Temple had been lost... with the money, the book could be published. As a last tribute and apology to Gyatso.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the other side of my door I heard the hiss of a frying pan on the fire and some unintelligible words directed at Appa, who answered with a bark. I did not blame him for not being with me, the last days I was a nightmare for those who accompanied me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I couldn't go on like this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With increasing frequency, I would erupt at Katara, at my wife, out of a residual insecurity of something we had agreed to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I ought to give her more credit; I believed - no, I knew, that we were capable of overcoming all obstacles. So why was it so difficult to ignore this particular one?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even as I worked, my mind went back to the night she spent away from me. Since the night of our wedding, we had never slept apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Days after…</span>
  <em>
    <span> that</span>
  </em>
  <span> night, she didn't let me get too close. On the second day, I made her let me examine her. I did not want him to hide from me any blow or wound that he may have done to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"I need to check that you're okay." I took her by the shoulder to keep her from walking away.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“ What? No… ” She tried to flee again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"I have to make sure!"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Trust me please. I just need some space.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>She refused to let me see her, or even go to a doctor. She assured me that she was fine, but it wasn't until a week later that she undressed in my presence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I put that memory out of my mind and put my precious folder of images for the book off the desk and took a deep breath, as I was taught since I was little. Even meditation hadn't fully tamed my negative feelings, but it definitely improved everything a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes of watching the rhythm of my breathing, I opened the door and headed for the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi K," I greeted softly. The last few days I had not been exactly easy on her and it showed in the slightly cautious and surprised smile that she gave me after the greeting. I made my tone as gentle as possible. “How was work? You won't have to go back like today, on Saturday?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything is fine. You know what Mr. Tong is like…” Her expression was carefully controlled in a gentle gesture as she served the rice and vegetables for the meal. “As of Monday, I will have caught up and will have less workload.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She helped herself to her own portion and returned to the kitchen for the frying pan where she cooked fish for her. After the years together I had already resigned myself to her not sharing my vision of being a vegetarian. And it didn't particularly bother me, although sometimes I did wonder what food we would accustom our children to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've been thinking." With one hand I took a bite of the rice and with the other I stroked Appa's hairy head. “Since the Air Temple is... out of reach, we have to think about where to invest the money. Not just leave it deposited, stuck in the bank.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My wife made an affirmative sound for me to continue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought about putting aside some of the money and with the rest I'll start looking at houses. You saw Yue yesterday, right? Is she still working in real estate? I'll go see her one of these days, so she can advise us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, that would be very convenient." She moved the spoon thoughtfully. “I wonder how much a place will cost in, I don't know, Omashu or Ba Sing Se.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a couple of bites, seemingly distracted, and I frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Those cities are expensive." It would not be enough for a good house and to edit the book. “A quiet town, like here in Chin City, is much better for raising children.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stood up abruptly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I was talking about renting a place there so I could go to college, not buying."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The possibility hadn't even occurred to me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Even with a baby?" I asked confused as she returned from the kitchen with a glass of water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Without</span>
  </em>
  <span> a baby. That would have to wait until after I graduated.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I fell into a surprised silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t get it. You know how important it is for me to have children and pass on what is left of  my culture.” I stared at her, trying to find out more about what I was hearing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And you know how important it is for me to study." She avoided my gaze. “You can surely wait four or five more years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't see that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Forget it," she interrupted. “We better talk about it later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was angry. I couldn't contain my own irritated response, I didn't get it, I simply didn't understand why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"As you wish." I returned my attention to the food and Appa, who whimpered at the tension in the atmosphere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After that, the only sound was that of silverware on plates. When she put aside her empty plate, she broke the silence as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The first thing we have to do is pay Sokka the money he lent us." She stood up and carried the dirty plate back to the kitchen. “I'll go to the bank on Monday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Very good." My voice came out darker and heavier than I expected as I followed her with my gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll be in the yard. Please wash the dishes.” An enthusiastic Appa followed her outside and I heard her start doing the laundry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why did she reject the idea like that, so outright? She already had a technical career… and I could work anyway. A college degree was going to cut money, not including rent and all other expenses. Even if the bills went out and we decided to go to Ba Sing Se or Omashu, why couldn't we just go with a baby? She had already told me in the past that she did want children… I didn't understand what the problem was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There must be another reason. She's not that selfish.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The idea kept haunting me. I carried the dishes to the sink and began to wash the dishes, trying to find an answer. The only thing I could think of was terrible… she was looking for a reason to leave me. Dazzled by money and that stupid night on a yacht…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I shook my head, trying to clear those unhealthy ideas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Katara isn't like that," I whispered to myself, and focused on the dishes again. At least until my gaze wandered and a small box on the stove caught my eye. It was not the usual brand of matches; it was decorated with a small red dragon, with the words "Dragon of the West" underneath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cold ran down my back as if an ice cube was running down my back, in the same path as my tattoo.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, washing clothes was not one of my favorite tasks, but the water on my skin had some therapeutic effect. When all the clothes were hung up and Appa lay down on his bed for a mid-afternoon nap, I saw the withered leaves in the garden and some fruits ready to cut. Usually Aang was in charge of pruning and watering; the last few days we were both too tense and his forgetfulness was almost logical.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aang's carelessness usually didn’t stray away from forgetting some chores around the house, or relapsing into trivialities that annoyed me like not emptying the trash or leaving the chairs full of dirt when he returned from walking with Appa. But this time, one of them had really hurt: he made plans for the money and it hadn't even occurred to him that I might have my own suggestions for using it. And besides, he didn't even mention the payment for Sokka. I didn't want to do it either, because I'd probably have to tell him how I got the money.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yes, Aang and I had talked. I wanted to have children. But as he had just said, it seemed like he was expecting to have a baby as soon as possible. In that instant, the weight of the prospect crushed me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I don't feel ready. I want to study, contribute something to the world before having a baby.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not asking me, assuming what I wanted… deep down, they were other oversights on his part, careless like the others, and not done with malicious intent. I hoped I could talk to him later, more calmly. Maybe before going to bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took a deep breath before going back inside to get the basket and the pruning shears. I put on the straw hat that I used to work in the garden and when I saw Aang, I made an effort to smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Some tomatoes are ready to harvest, are you coming?" I wanted to offer my flag of peace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sure." He followed me and settled on the edge of the house as I bent over the plant and began to cut the fruit. “I have a question, K. An important question.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Tell me." Maybe he was finally thinking of taking me into account when deciding on money.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What’s the Dragon of the West?" His weird tone of voice unnerved me, it was the same cold tone of voice. And so sadly common in recent days during our few conversations.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where did you hear it?" A lot of images and sensations that I shouldn't have remembered popped into my mind and I tensed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t matter. What is it?” He was clutching something in his fist, a small box of matches that I had in my bag, which I took the night on the yacht.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Have you been rummaging through my bag?" I kept the volume of my voice down, with some effort. No, no... I left that box out myself, when the matches in the kitchen ran out and I used them to light the stove. I bit my tongue in realization, but the damage was done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's in your bag?" The box was already crushed and useless in his fist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took a deep breath again, remembering that he had been under a lot of pressure lately and that I had to be the mature person who kept calm. Again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The Dragon of the West is a ship," I replied without meeting his eyes, trying to appear focused on the tomatoes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop the interrogation, I beg you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What ship?" Immune to my internal pleading, he took a couple of steps closer and pressed for more answers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We said we wouldn't talk about it again, Aang." I pushed aside the empty laundry basket with my arm and a sheet that was drying. I hoped Aang would remember to pick up the hanged clothes before it rained. Because the cloudy sky seemed to announce rain. Why had I put the hat on?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I just need to talk about it, Katara. I thought I was going to be able to forget it... I couldn't, I'm incapable. I ask myself about that night all the time and it's driving me crazy. Can we talk please? Then I will try to erase it completely from my memory.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I closed my eyes for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know what you want me to tell you. Whatever it is, it'll only hurt you more.” I tried to reason. My own confused feelings about it that night had nothing to do with not wanting to talk about it. Especially, to talk about it with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To avoid looking at him, I leaned over the other plants, having already finished with the tomatoes. I examined the potatoes, all too aware of Aang's humor struggling with what he wanted to say to me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please. The truth, the truth is the only thing I want. As my father always taught me, the truth sets the spirit free. That's why I need you to tell me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stood up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine! If you want that badly to know, I'll tell you.” I held the basket of withered vegetables on my hip. I braced myself. “He took me to his yacht, the Dragon of the West.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There is no sea in Omashu." His gaze accused me. My low spirits were strained; he didn't want the truth, he wanted an excuse for his anger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. We flew to Kyoshi. It was the port that could be seen from the yacht.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what else?” His gaze was filled with an almost maddened hunger. “What else happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. It will be worse with whatever I say.” Seeing the state Aang was in made my stomach sink with anguish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're keeping things from me." For the first time, I saw resentment in a gesture directed at me. I started to shake and couldn't help but lash out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? What can I hide from you? You know what was in the contract! Do you remember? Yes, I was on his luxurious yacht and we made passionate love all night, are you happy already? Or do you want me to give you more details?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were a million more things he could say that with the right tone and words would be so hurtful that the damage would be irreparable. With an immense effort, I swallowed those words and it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You haven't told me if you liked it." His gray eyes were so cold I could hardly recognize them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My voice broke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If I tell you I liked it, you'll feel worse. If I tell you I didn’t, you won't believe me. How can I answer you then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Answer me honestly, I already told you! The truth!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wanted to get away from him. I ran into the house, but he followed me, catching up with me in just a couple of strides thanks to his height. I felt cornered in the little room that had always been a refuge for me. I turned and looked at him, blurred by the tears I didn't want to shed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Aren't you going to tell me more?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a fit of rage, he took my bag off the shelf and turned it upside down. All the contents fell to the ground. He ran his hands over the rest of the things and finding nothing unusual, he lifted my wallet and began to scan the compartments. I pounced on him the instant I realized what I was going to find there. The card.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And this? WHAT IS THIS?” He held the card in front of my eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A card." I tried to stay calm as much as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can see that. I wonder whose it is.” He crumpled the card and threw it hard to the ground. “I wonder if you’ve already called these numbers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, I haven't called! Why don't you trust me anymore?” A treacherous tear slid down my cheek, but luckily my voice didn't tremble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why didn't you tell me?” He crossed his arms with a reproachful look, but lowered the volume of his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought of telling you, but do you think your behavior would make me want to tell you?" I sank down on the couch, my knees suddenly weak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few moments, Aang remained sullen, then relaxed his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll be in my study. No need to cook dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he slammed his door shut, leaving me alone in the living room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With slightly shaking hands, I picked up the card, now slightly crumpled. I had to call anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was a bad idea to call from the house phone. If for some reason Aang leaned out, if he listened... everything would be even worse. I shuddered. Like when he faced the banker Shi Tong, it was a primal anger that scared me. I wanted to calm him down, but I had no idea how to do it anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took my keys and purse. Still holding the card in one hand, I slammed the entrance door as I went outside in search of a pay phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a list of four numbers written on the card. I dialed the first two, with no results. I assumed they were from an office, which would surely be deserted on Saturday night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I dialed the third number and waited. After the third ring, when I was already thinking of the fourth number as the last possibility, there was a voice on the other end of the line.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” The voice sounded a little sleepy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is Katara." The emotions of the clash with my husband were beginning to take their toll, but I didn't want to cry on the phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Katara?" An invisible hand squeezed my heart. I remembered, in a very inappropriate way, his voice hoarse in my ear as I called out his name. I hated myself for the inconvenience of that thought. “It's… great to hear from you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't believe it, Mr. Zuko." All the coldness I couldn't have towards him that night came naturally now, accompanied by a certain bitterness. “I didn't want to make this call.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His pained silence brought me brief, dark satisfaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You said you were trying to correct what your father did. Instead, you bought the land that was in the hands of the last air nomad. You snatched it out of our hands.” I tightened my grip on the phone receiver. “What do you want it for? Are you going to build a luxurious villa? A factory or a mine, as your father wanted to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I could no longer contain my sobs or maintain the volume of my voice and sounded hysterical to my own ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It was the only thing the genocide survivors got! Doesn't the name Gyatso Yangchen ring a bell? He was my husband's adoptive father! He had only one possession and now it's in the hands of those who killed his people!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Strangely, I didn't feel any better for screaming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Listen to me for a moment, please," his voice implored, too soft on the other end of the line as I took a breath. “I didn't know that it was… that it belonged to… Mr. Yangchen. They never gave me information on the other people who sued my father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I buffed. I didn't believe him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I… I saw that the land and the Temple were for sale and I immediately bought them. My plans were to make them a museum, as compensation for what my father did. I had no idea that anyone alive could claim them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wanted to scream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Now that you know, how much do you sell it for?" I asked in an acid voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. No, it was my mistake. I'll give you back the Air Temple, of course. It is yours. I will bring the deeds myself after doing the paperwork.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>New tears fell, but this time they were of frustration. How can I keep my anger against him if he behaved like that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ah…" was the first sound I could make. I just wanted that conversation to be over soon. “Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm rarely on this phone," he stopped me before I hung up. “So in order to pursue the matter, is there a way to communicate with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was tired. So tired of worrying, tired of thinking and having my guard up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I work in Chin City Judge Tong's office," I whispered in a broken voice. “If anything, you can send a message there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I hung up the pay phone and stepped out into the cool night air under the light of the full moon. I inhaled the air, charged with the coldness of the South Pole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I walked back… I couldn't call it home, not if I was running away from it. In the distance I saw the dining room in darkness, the only light came from the study. I sighed. Aang would surely stay to work until dawn, as he had already done a couple of nights before. He would go to bed once I had left the room. Or he would simply sleep in his study.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <span>No, today was definitely</span>
  <em>
    <span> not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a good day to break the news that we would have the Air Temple back. I'd give him one night to calm down (and to calm myself down too). I would tell him tomorrow.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Shall I tell you something funny? In my first draft for this story, there were only 12 chapters and roughly 18 k words. Somehow they turned into more than 20 chapters that I have not finished writing yet, but what I already have is well over 50k words. Hehe ...</p>
<p>I also hope it doesn't seem like terrible mistreatment to Aang's character. Katara, on the other hand, could be very cruel, although I like to think that here, where she is older, she has changed a bit.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading and leaving reviews! Here are the formal synopsis of the future fanfics I mentioned last week :D</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Modern AU (option A):<br/>Gran Gran got a job house sitting in Ember Island, and Katara, Sokka and Suki take the opportunity for some days of vacation. At the beach, Katara meets Lee. He, as Gran Gran, takes care of someone else's possessions. They start a summer relationship that has the potential to go much further, but things get complicated with the end of the holidays, and Lee may not be who Katara believed.</p>
<p>Not-modern AU (option B):<br/>Katara never left the place where she was born, and after the war that left Iroh on the throne, she has lost her entire family. She is taken in by relatives her father had estranged from, and yearns to find again the only person who feels like a friend. On the other hand, the crown prince is about to visit the house, but that has nothing to do with her, does it?</p>
<p>With special mention for rahidas04 for her awesome work, until next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Tempests and fire lilies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That Sunday was the most miserable one of my married life.</p>
<p>We spent the entire day pretending that the other did not exist. Even the food I prepared for him stayed on the table outside his door, without him even touching it.</p>
<p>I was so desperate to do something that I took out some of my clothes that needed patching and that I had been putting off for months. I envied Aang's studio and his myriad of projects. I had none of that, all my time used to go between work and housework.</p>
<p>By mid-afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out of there.</p>
<p>"I'm going to the supermarket," I yelled in the direction of my husband's study, without receiving confirmation that he had heard me.</p>
<p>The shopping list was more of an excuse than an actual necessity; there were still groceries bought the week before. After walking around the aisles of the store, I decided that a bottle of cider might be a good excuse to talk to Aang and celebrate the good news.</p>
<p>Zuko promised. He would give us the deeds without charge. That meant the rest of the money belonged to us and we could use it to renovate the building, which had been so neglected for almost a decade. Those were generous terms… and it was time to tell Aang.</p>
<p>Back at the house, I found him with Appa in the dining room, his gaze lost and his face sad.</p>
<p>"I brought something for dinner." I held up the cider bottle and got a faint smile from him.</p>
<p>"Let me help you." He took the bags from the grocery store and carried them into the kitchen, then grabbed the bottle and removed the cork.</p>
<p>"I'll get the glasses." Our party tableware wasn't too fine.</p>
<p>"It's been difficult this past weeks…" It was a way of apologizing, I supposed. I nodded, trying to smile at him.</p>
<p>“Quite. There's something I want to tell you.” I took the first glass and washed it. “Last Friday when I went to dinner with Yue, I asked her if she knew anything about the Air Temple sale.”</p>
<p>“Yes?” I heard his emotion and felt his hand on my shoulder. “Did she know something?”</p>
<p>“In fact, her agency was the one that processed the sale. She told me she found the paperwork” I put the second of the glasses on the rack to let it dry so I could pour the cider.</p>
<p>“And you know?” His voice became urgent. “Who was it, who bought it?”</p>
<p>"As of now, the Temple is in the name of Zu… Mr. Zuko." I dried the glasses and put them on the table. My husband gasped.</p>
<p>"What does that family have against me? Does he want to finish what your father started?”</p>
<p>I hugged him, but he stayed tense, as if he didn't feel it.</p>
<p>"It's not that bad, I talked to him and he said…”</p>
<p>“YOU SPOKE WITH HIM!?” He yelled as he shook my hug hard.</p>
<p>I huddled against the wall. He had never done anything to me, but his anger had never been directed at me, either.</p>
<p>"I spoke to him about the Air Temple, Aang. It's the only reason I'd talk to him. The reason we made the deal!” My words became frantic as his face darkened. “They’re good news!”</p>
<p>"Nothing good can come from people like that, not from that family. What did you talk to him about? How many times have you called him? You lied to me about the card,” he said, and the accusation made my throat tighten.</p>
<p>“That’s not true! I called him last night to try to repair the mistake that was this whole million yuan deal, to get something good out of this whole horrible situation!” I lost control over the volume of my voice. “Something good about the contract I fulfilled for you!”</p>
<p>He gave a sarcastic laugh that I had never heard him in the 10 years that I had known him.</p>
<p>"Don't lie to me, Katara. You didn't do it for me, you did it for yourself! You wanted to do it!” In one swift movement he swept the table and sent everything on it to the floor, where it landed among sounds of glass breaking.</p>
<p>“How can you say that?” I huddled as hard as I could against the kitchen cabinet. “It was all to save the Temple, for you.”</p>
<p>"You lie again, it was obvious from the beginning that you wanted to go with him!"</p>
<p>"I thought he was handsome, but I would <em> never </em> have gone with him if it weren't for the Temple!"</p>
<p>"How stupid do you think I am ?!" He punched the table. “You followed your own selfish motives!”</p>
<p>That was the straw that broke the camel's back.</p>
<p>“Selfish? <em> Selfish? </em> Are you listening to yourself, do you hear how unfair that is? So very unfair! Since we got married, everything we've done has been around what you wanted!” My voice cracked. “We moved here for the cheap rent to pay the mortgage, I give the money for the house and for you to do the book, I put my dreams aside to help you! And you pay me back for all that, with refusing to even listen to me!</p>
<p>He stared blankly at me.</p>
<p>"I can't be under the same roof with someone who lies to me," was all he answered, and the venom in his voice was enough to break my heart.</p>
<p>I did not move from the kitchen, paralyzed, and I heard some movements in the room. I saw him rush out, grab Appa's necklace, and slam the door.</p>
<p>Not wanting to think about what had just happened, I went for a broom to sweep up the broken glass. With the same mechanical movements, I went to lie down despite the early hour. I wouldn't be able to sleep, but there was work the next day.</p>
<p>At the office, Song immediately noticed that something had happened, but she did not pressure me and I thanked her silently.</p>
<p>Two more days of work passed in a similar way, without me hearing from Aang. Where had he gone? I kept wishing that one afternoon when I returned, he would be back, waiting for me. That afternoon, I found something different when I returned home. An absence even deeper than the deafening silence of the lonely nights in that house.</p>
<p>When I entered the living room, instead of finding the couch, there was only emptiness. Possessed by the terrible presentiment it carried, I ran to his study: empty, too. He had taken all his belongings, there was only a table left, the filing cabinet and a bookcase still with some books and sketchbooks from his career.</p>
<p>To my own surprise, I didn't feel anything. Or maybe the devastation was too overwhelming to react. I wished someone was here with me. I didn't feel capable of facing such an empty house by myself… When my father had gone abroad to work, at least I had Sokka and Grandma to make up for the worst part of the empty space he left behind.</p>
<p>The sound of the doorbell forced me to close the door to the terrible sight of the vacated study, and I went to open.</p>
<p>"Suki!" I was surprised to find her on the porch. “What are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Was this an answer to my prayers?</p>
<p>"It's Thursday, do you remember? I said it was coming on Thursday?” Suki looked at me a little disconcerted, but still smiling. I didn't remember anything about it. It was probably written in a letter that I did not open the week before. The instant she noticed my gesture, I saw her smile turn to concern. “What’s the matter?”</p>
<p>"Aang's gone," I said without emotion.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>"We fought on Sunday and he left, I just came back and I saw that he took all his things ..." Without noticing, I had started to cry.</p>
<p><em> “What? </em>” Suki took me by the shoulders. “You guys never fought before!”</p>
<p>I was unable to respond when sobs drowned out my voice.</p>
<p>“What happened? Come on, tell me inside.” We both walked into the living room, where Suki dragged two chairs from the dining room to sit.</p>
<p>I tried to calm the emotions that were preventing me from speaking, and for the second time I told someone everything. Everything, down to Aang's jealousy and his stormy outbursts, to the call to Zuko, the fight with Aang, and the days I spent alone.</p>
<p>"He is behaving like a child," she commented angrily when I finished, and hugged me. “He must have done this in a fit. Wait for him to calm down and he will look for you himself…”</p>
<p>"I'm tired of waiting for him to do things” to take me into account, to notice the effort I was making. I was sick of waiting for things that never came.</p>
<p>Suki sighed, dropping the topic.</p>
<p>"Oh, before I forget to tell you… I guess you didn't read the letter. Sokka commissioned me to tell you that her father will be able to come until the end of the year parties. The family reunion is postponed.”</p>
<p>"Ah, I think it's for the better." I smiled weakly.</p>
<p>Tactfully, Suki embarked on a lively narration of my brother's latest work projects and the paperwork that brought her to Chin City, effectively distracting me for the rest of the afternoon.</p>
<p>The next day, I woke up with as little spirits as the days before. It did represent a slight improvement though, to find Suki putting on makeup instead of the depressing lonely atmosphere where I missed Appa's sounds.</p>
<p>"Don't you have some green concealer to lend me? I have dark circles and I think I forgot mine" I saw her out of the corner of my eye, looking at herself in the bedroom mirror.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it must be with my other makeup." I hardly used it, and in fact she herself had given me the one I currently had. “Take anything you need.”</p>
<p>I started to get dressed. I was putting my shoes on when Suki gasped in surprise.</p>
<p>“What? What happened?” I whirled around, thinking of some insect or other vermin that somehow passed into the house, now that there was no surveillance from Appa.</p>
<p>"How did you get this lipstick? It's a limited edition, they only made 100 pieces and it came out a month ago” she was holding in her hands one of the pieces of makeup that were on the yacht that night.</p>
<p><em> I’m not going to use them. And from what I know, they can't be shared. Better take them with you, </em>he said at dawn, when we were both dressed and I returned to the room where I had changed to retrieve my handbag. He tried to give me the eyeshadow palette too, but it didn't fit in my bag and I didn't want to explain. I accepted the lipstick because it was small and I found the color beautiful... although I had not used it since that night.</p>
<p>"It was a… gift." I would have preferred not to respond. Fortunately, she did not insist and while I went to the office, she went to take care of the paperwork she needed and perhaps to go around the city.</p>
<p>My working day passed like the other days and in the afternoon I felt Suki watching me with concern. The next morning, already Saturday (in the afternoon she was returning to Kyoshi), she got tired of trying to get me up.</p>
<p>"I know exactly what you need," Suki declared with a triumphant gesture, after the third time she tried to get the covers off me, without success.</p>
<p>"No, you don't," I replied, burying my face in my pillow.</p>
<p>“You’ll see. Get dressed, we're leaving in an hour.”</p>
<p>I growled. An hour was an eternity, and at the same time, barely enough time to gather my spirits and get to my feet.</p>
<p>When the time was up, I went out to find Yue with Suki in the dining room, with a slightly awkward gesture. It was understandable, after all Suki was her ex-boyfriend's wife. The muttering they exchanged stopped the moment I entered.</p>
<p>"Let’s get on the way, or we'll lose the reservation!" Suki stood up. I questioned Yue with a look, but she answered with a smile and nothing else.</p>
<p>We took a taxi to the largest shopping center in Chin City and he led us into a spa with a large sign advertising it as "Fancy Lady Day Spa."</p>
<p>I had no spirit to resist and followed them inside. Covered with fluffy white towels, we entered the sauna, full of steam scented with aromatic essences. A massage, a mud bath and masks followed. In the end, several employees took care of manicures, pedicures and makeup. The whole time, Suki and Yue took it upon themselves to keep the conversation focused on light topics, which effectively distracted me from my melancholic mood.</p>
<p>"Nothing like feeling beautiful to lift the spirits," Suki sighed in satisfaction, and I smiled almost against my will. The skin was so smooth, and every detail of my appearance received attention.</p>
<p>"I had never come with friends before," laughed Yue, who was almost glowing with the elaborate hairstyle the stylist made her for free, after almost fainting at the sight of her hair.</p>
<p>"There's still another stop." Suki took us both by the arms and we were guided to another store, this one for clothing and lingerie. “A woman feels 80% more confident if her underwear makes her look sexy.”</p>
<p>"Suki, no one's going to see it," I blushed.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter. Knowing that you are wearing it is enough. On days when I feel down, I always wear one like this.” She showed me a full-body piece, made entirely of lace. Yue was already distracted, browsing through the store shelves, and Suki leaned in to whisper in my ear. “When I come back from work, your brother always reiterates to me how amazing I look.”</p>
<p>"Suki! I didn't need those details!” I turned to try to flee.</p>
<p>"Oh no, you aren't escaping. Surely there are some that you like.” She dragged me to browse the shelves too, talking incessantly of colors, styles and materials.</p>
<p>I ended up with a bag that contained three sets of lingerie in different colors, still wondering how spirits she had managed to convince me. After that, Yue and I said goodbye to Suki at the bus station.</p>
<p>On Monday I went to work with the blue lace suit under my clothes. I had to admit that Suki was absolutely right: it wasn't visible, but the soft fabric reminded me of my image in the mirror. That security showed in my steps.</p>
<p>I greeted Song in much better spirits than the week before and went to work diligently on the letters left over from the day before.</p>
<p>A commotion at the door made us both look up. A messenger entered, followed by what looked like all the employees in the building. The messenger approached our desks.</p>
<p>"Good afternoon, I was told that Miss Katara worked in this office." He was carrying a box in his hands.</p>
<p>"It's her," Song pointed at me before I could say anything.</p>
<p>"Sign here, please." He handed me a paper and a pen and I had a serious déjà vu of Omashu's hotel. “Thank you very much.”</p>
<p>He withdrew and placed the box on my table. Below the transparent lid, rested a small bouquet of fire lilies accompanied by a note.</p>
<p>“Come on! Who sent it to you? Your husband? Oh, if my boyfriend were more like him,” another secretary from the other office on my floor intervened almost breathlessly; I would have spoken with her two times at most. The excited chat from the rest of the visitors flooded my ears.</p>
<p>"Errr ..." I was pretty sure of the identity of the sender, who else? That didn't mean I wanted to announce it to the whole building.</p>
<p>"What are you all doing here? Is there an emergency?” I found an unexpected savior in Mr. Tong. Since the crowd couldn't give a reason, he hushed them out. “Come on, come on, get back to your work!”</p>
<p>He glanced at the flowers in the box with a tiny smile.</p>
<p>"You two, go back to work too," he told us, with much less severity than he used for the others.</p>
<p>“And well? What does it say?” Song leaned across my table as Mr. Tong disappeared behind his door.</p>
<p>I swallowed and opened the card.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Dear Katara: </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Bureaucratic obstacles to paperwork have prevented me  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> from resolving the matter as quickly as was my intention. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> With a sincere apology, rest assured that I have not  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> forgotten my promise and you will receive notice shortly. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em> My respects, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Zuko </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh." Song sat back, eyes wide. Surely she had also assumed that the sender was Aang, and now she didn't know what to think about it. “I can tell them it was Aang, if you want.”</p>
<p>That wasn't going to stop the rumors, but it was preferable to spreading the truth.</p>
<p>“Thank you. Aang and I, we had an argument…” I wasn't quite sure why I said that, but Song nodded.</p>
<p>"The flowers are beautiful," was her last comment before we both returned to our respective jobs. Yes, I thought so too, and the mixture of emotion and guilt diluted in anger did not prevent me from appreciating it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaand… around here I accidentally created an extra chapter. A few times. Now the description of 21 chapters is accurate, if nothing else happens, lol.</p>
<p>Many thanks to those who follow the story week after week, the emails that notify me of the comments, kudos and so on feed my enthusiasm :’D</p>
<p>And thanks SO much to rahidas04 for her beta work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Crossroads</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When we were children, Sokka was always the one who made the plans and prepared all the details for our expeditions in the snow. He used to tell me that I acted without thinking at all about the consequences or the things that might be needed. It was a painful reality that this was one of those times.</p><p>Still, I absolutely refused to withdraw money from the<em> million </em>, so I was getting by with what little was left in the account where my work payments used to be deposited. So I got a very cheap rent for a tiny room and a truck that would carry the couch where I planned to sleep and three boxes with the most important materials I would need to work. Of course, an additional box with the pictures from my book.</p><p>There were still some matters that required immediate attention. Part of the things Katara said that terrible afternoon were true: she gave the money for the household expenses. And now, since I had no project to work with, I was living with time as an enemy, until the money ran out.</p><p>Judging by the sunlight hitting my eyes, it was already past noon. I had stayed working until dawn <em> again </em>, missing my usual table, and by the time I managed to fall asleep, the neighbor's children were already leaving for school.</p><p>I ran my hand over my head and my fingers tangled in the first few curls. I hadn't shaved in days... A growl from my stomach told me that food was more urgent. I pushed aside the blankets that I put each night on the couch and rummaged around the table, where I found only a paper bag full of bread scraps, but no edible-sized pieces.</p><p>"It can't be," I mumbled. How was it possible that the food ran out so quickly? “I just brought food a few days ago.”</p><p>At least the peanut butter jar was almost full. With no silverware or bread available, I emptied some of the thick contents into my hand, to calm my hunger in the meantime. In the strain of avoiding Katara, I had forgotten to pack a lot of things I was missing now.</p><p>I called Appa and put his collar on before heading to the market. To take him out for a walk he didn’t need a leash, but I already had a bad experience of the kennel trying to take him away because he didn’t have his collar on.</p><p>Seeing the normal life of people on the street improved my mood a bit. I greeted a couple of people I was beginning to recognize as Appa and I walked on the sidewalk. I left him outside, with the order to wait for me while I went in to buy.</p><p>I tried to remember what else I needed. Jam, bread, fruit. A bar of soap, I suddenly remembered. I skipped a lot of the shelves and stalls outright, to go straight to the bakery and the grocery store, where I bought the biggest bag of fruit I could, and more bread, which was what I could eat without needing a kitchen. And to be honest, even if I had access to a kitchen, there was very little I knew how to prepare other than boiled rice that was slightly burnt at the bottom of the pot.</p><p>Appa, on the other hand, had at least a sack and a half of food in reserve. I ended with a last stop at the newsstand, where I bought a copy of <em> Bosco </em>, one of the national newspapers of the Earth Kingdom.</p><p>Almost as soon as I stepped onto the street, Appa caught up with me with a bark. Around us already seemed to begin the traffic of people returning from work; this was how it usually looked when I went to pick up K after work. It must be about an hour before her work day was over.</p><p><em> Deep breaths. </em>Meditation made you recognize what you felt, without judging, accepting. Looking inside myself, I knew that I was still very angry.</p><p>A limousine sped past me, I barely caught a glimpse of it over the bundles that I carried in my arms. It was rare to see one of those, they were usually rented for parties and events like that.</p><p>I shrugged and rearranged my packages as the vehicle drifted up the street. My new house was much closer to the airport than the other, it was to be expected to see differences in the traffic.</p><p>"Come on boy, back home. Yip yip!” And he started at a light trot that I followed a little behind him until we reached the little room in which we now lived.</p><p>After serving Appa's plate of food and a simple lunch for myself, I sat down on the couch to check the newspaper, straight to the job vacancies section. I had a more or less wide range of skills that covered at least three or four of the advertised positions.</p><p>I had resisted getting a job like that for so long, as a professor or an architect's office draftsman, because there weren't many in Chin City and because the projects (where I'd started a respectable portfolio even before I graduated) paid better by the hour and they allowed me to work on the book. And because in Chin City Katara had a job and the two-bedroom house with a small garden was cheap.</p><p>But now, I needed to replenish my savings, and put things to rest with my wife before contacting her again. It was an open wound that he preferred not to touch until it had healed a little.</p><p>What if when I contacted her she asked me for separation?</p><p>No, no. One day at a time. I took a deep breath and pulled out a pen and paper to write the first of several job applications. Fortunately, the room already had a table, and I absorbed myself without noticing the passing of the hours.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>  Fate is a curious thing. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I tightened my grip on the handle of my briefcase. My uncle's first words kept echoing in my mind, complete with his contemplative gaze and his hand stroking his beard as he spoke. That memory felt more real than the images of the city that briefly passed through the rented window.</p><p>I had told my uncle the whole situation (including the involvement of his friend Col, which got in response the gesture he made when he did not want to laugh in front of me) in the hope that he would give me some cryptic advice, which did not come. After finishing my explanation regarding the Southern Air Temple, he nodded gravely in approval of my new plans.</p><p>"She is a woman of strong spirit if she decided to call you," was his only observation.</p><p>Of course, while those phrases weren't exactly advice, he was absolutely right. Katara was an enigma; it seemed that I was destined to do things to displease her, which nevertheless made her seek me out. The latter prevented me from regretting the events too much.</p><p>While she had only called to lash out her anger on my face, I had obtained a way to contact her, which filled me with an inappropriate excitement in response to her justified anger.</p><p>As usual, Ty Lee was charged with overseeing the legal matters of changing the ownership names of the Southern Air Temple. When she called me to give me the news that it would take at least another three business days, she also told me that if I wanted to keep what little good opinion Katara might have of me, I had to notify her of the delay so that she would not think that I had forgotten. Or worse, that I had lied to her.</p><p>And since I didn’t know the kind of flowers she liked and roses would be too cliché, Ty Lee remarked, I had to try other flowers. Also with help from Ty Lee, I took Toph's advice: between the two of us, we made a list of things, which I was just hoping the opportunity to use would present itself. Some, I myself admitted, were almost unreal (like having prepared my house in Ba Sing Se to receive Katara), but it was always better to plan moves for all possibilities, I had learned that from Pai Sho matches with my uncle.</p><p>On the other hand, I had a plan on which many of my hopes rested, not only because it would allow me to make amends to her at least a little, but because her presence would help a lot. She said she was born at the South Pole. Once we closed factories there, I did my best to boost local recovery efforts. Now, no one like someone from the South Pole to make sure that that effort was well spent...</p><p>It was a long shot, I knew. She wouldn’t have to agree to accompany me again. Agni, she didn't even have to listen to my offer. But if there was one thing even my sister recognized, it was that I didn't give up. This was no exception.</p><p>The car stopped and the driver told me that we had reached the destination that I had requested. I ordered him to wait for me outside and strode to the door of the building, five floors of concrete and small windows.</p><p>No, I wasn't going to give up.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The cold seemed to make people get along better; there were few unfinished business for Judge Tong. Even the number of letters to be typed was small. Therefore, the sound of the intercom with the reception of the office building became the most exciting event of the day that was about to end.</p><p>"Someone from Mr. Tong's office, please come downstairs. There's a visitor or a package, I'm not really sure,” a slightly metallic voice called over the radio.</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll go," Song offered when she saw me in the middle of a letter, unlike her who was just about to start the next one.</p><p>I thanked her with a tired sigh when I saw her leave. She was back a few minutes later, but instead of going back to her place, out of the corner of my eye I saw her standing near the door.</p><p>“What’s the matter?” I didn't look away from the text I was transcribing. “Did more flowers arrive?”</p><p>"Not exactly… I mean, yes, but…" Song insisted in a weird tone.</p><p>“Then what…?”</p><p>And I, too, was speechless when I finally looked up. In front of my small desk, worn by years of service, was Zuko, with a long dark gray wool coat and a small box in his hands. This time they weren't fire lilies, but panda lilies.</p><p>"Hi, Katara." His smile had a hint of nerves in his eyes.</p><p>For several seconds there was absolute silence.</p><p>"They’re calling me at the front desk, if you'll excuse me..." Song excused herself and almost ran for the door. Zuko cleared his throat.</p><p>"Um. I didn't know which flowers you would like, so today I brought different ones.” He held up the box with the exotic flowers. “Do you like panda lilies?”</p><p>I nodded, too surprised to do anything else. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.</p><p>"First of all, I want to apologize for the whole Southern Air Temple property issue. I realize I could have handled the air nomad research aspect better, it was insensitive of me to assume some things.”</p><p>With a little more distance from the moment of the call, not only was I no longer angry, but I even felt a bit embarrassed by my harsh words. But I didn't know how to say that.</p><p>"On the other hand, I already have the deeds with the proper name." He raised the briefcase he was holding in his other hand.</p><p>I remained silent, mostly because I didn't know what to say. Everything inside me was a hodgepodge of warmth, nerves, and a slight exasperation. In the face of my lack of response, he gently placed the flowers on my table and held the briefcase with both hands.</p><p>"With whom can I see the details?"</p><p>"At the moment my husband is not available." Regaining my speech, I tried to maintain a tone that did not reveal my confusion. To Zuko's credit, his only reaction was mild bewilderment.</p><p>"In that case, is it okay if I contact your lawyer?" I shrugged.</p><p>"Attorney Jet Gaipan will be happy to handle any matter that requires it." Instinctively, I took the box of flowers and placed it closer to me on my table. “I appreciate your visit in person, though you see that it was unnecessary.”</p><p>There was an awkward silence. I shot him a sideways glance and he was staring at me.</p><p>"Actually, it's not the only thing I came to say." He nervously adjusted his messy hair, which immediately returned to its initial disarray, and I struggled to block the memory of that same hair between my fingers. “I also have another offer... More of a request, actually.”</p><p>I narrowed my eyes. The previous deal was a lousy idea, but technically that deal was proposed by Col. Zuko was quick to keep talking.</p><p>“Recently, a fund was released within the company to improve public image. A portion will be destined to the South Pole… I would like you to be able to advise me to apply that money.”</p><p>I couldn't help a small exclamation. He never failed to surprise me.</p><p>"It will be two days, at most three, in Caldera. Enough for you to accompany me to the office and listen to the presentations of those who have proposals. I read the summaries on the way here: one of the projects seeks to promote a winter resort, another is focused on species conservation, uh, and it seems to me that there is one more on seafood.</p><p>My interest immediately skyrocketed. Which would have a greater positive impact on the small towns of the South Pole? A million questions about the lands they planned to use and the details of the projects came to mind, but he kept talking.</p><p>"There is another that was not very clear. I thought it would be very convenient if a local person, who knows business and customs, could give me his opinion. I bring the papers, if you want to see them.”</p><p>He held out the briefcase again and looked at me hopefully, still standing in front of my desk.</p><p>I debated for a few seconds, thinking that maybe there was some catch, because the offer looked <em> too </em> good. Make sure the Fire Corp. helped people? What could be better than that? As much as I searched, I didn’t find any disadvantage. At least the change of scenery could do me good, and with the month's salary I could buy a ticket to Caldera… Zuko didn't even ask to go to his house or that I share a room with him.</p><p>"What’s the trap?" I said, unable to contain the words.</p><p>“Trap?” He hesitated, with a slight blush. “There’s none…”</p><p>I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Sometimes a little push could get more answers.</p><p>"Okay." He held up his free hand, surrendering. “I want to apologize for the Temple and… and spend more time with you. The rest is legitimate, I am really interested in your advice for these projects.”</p><p>I bit my lip. If there really was nothing else behind… With a start, I realized that I trusted what he said.</p><p>"Okay then," I heard myself say. “When should I be there? I have to ask for permission at work and arrange for the ticket.”</p><p>"We leave on tonight’s flight." He smiled, his eyes blazing.</p><p>“Tonight? It's work day, my boss won't agree,” I objected, it was the middle of the work week!</p><p>"But you do want to come," he asked with his eyes, and I nodded, sure of that at least. “I got this. Give me two minutes.”</p><p>He walked to the office and knocked on the door, which he closed behind him when he received permission to enter. I sat down again; I hadn't even noticed the moment when I stood up. What was happening?</p><p>Several minutes passed and I could hear the voices and the jovial tone of the conversation, although I couldn't make out the words. Then there was the screeching of chairs and footsteps approaching the door.</p><p>"Mrs. Katara!" Mr. Tong walked out of his office with a hand on Zuko's shoulder. “This philanthropic businessman just told me about the magnificent event where he needs your help.”</p><p>"Yes, I had some doubts about the dates, because it seems that it takes place during work days…" I began, and my boss interrupted me with a gesture as if he were chasing a fly away.</p><p>"Who thinks of that, my dear Katara? I say yes, of course.” Mr. Tong bowed respectfully. “As efficient as you are, you get two week’s worth of work in just a few days. What is so little time for my best employee? What's more, if you want to take it all week and the next too! You are free from this moment on.”</p><p>Mr. Tong smiled so wide that I worried about the state of his cheeks.</p><p>“It’s fine, then?” Zuko whispered to me, unexpectedly close. I almost jumped.</p><p>"Er… in that case, Mr. Tong, thank you very much. Have a good afternoon…” I hurried to grab my coat, my bag and the box of flowers.</p><p>"I thank you infinitely, respectable Judge Tong."</p><p>All the way, always with Zuko, I felt the burning gazes of the rest of the people who worked in the building. I felt a bit sorry for Song, who waved goodbye to me from the hall. They would surely press her for answers that she didn't have either. For me, the hell of the interrogation would begin when I returned from this excursion.</p><p>A car that would classify as a short limousine waited outside the building. Zuko opened the door for me before he got in the car too.</p><p>"The plane leaves in four hours. Surely you’ll want to go pack some luggage... then, it would be an honor if you would allow me to invite you to dinner.” The smile reached his eyes.</p><p>"Okay," I replied simply, it didn't seem like a problem. “After going to my house, please.”</p><p>"If you give directions to the driver, please" I blushed and gave my address. A slightly uncomfortable silence settled among us until the street of the house appeared. It was so strange, almost surreal, that the two things coincided: my married life's rented house and Zuko.</p><p>"I'll wait out here," he said when I opened the car door.</p><p>I nodded and ran. In the room, I took out the usual suitcase, the same one from the trip to Omashu. Zuko said it would be two days, three tops… All I knew about Caldera was that it had a reputation for mild weather even in winter. I ended up throwing my summer dresses, a pair of pants and a sweater, in addition to the basic hygiene items. And underwear.</p><p>I blushed up to my eyebrows when I saw the lingerie sets I had bought at the girls day out with Yue and Suki folded. Trying not to think about the possible implications, I also put it in the suitcase where despite everything, there was some space left.</p><p>When I got out, the driver was already waiting to receive my suitcase and put it in the trunk. He opened the door for me and I didn't stop feeling strange.</p><p>"All set," I said without looking at Zuko as I sat down next to him again. And eaten away by curiosity, I gave in to the desire to ask him. “What did you tell Mr. Tong that he offered me the whole week off?”</p><p>"I left him my office phone number. I suggested that he could coordinate a similar project with the Fire Corp., but exclusively for Chin City.” He shrugged.</p><p>"I see." I understood why immediately. It was easy to see that Mr. Tong was interested in the political implications of a link to the new Fire Corp. The entire building knew that he was hoping to rise to the rank of magistrate. It would be a lot easier if he got the right levers.</p><p>"Do you have any preference for dinner?" His fingers moved nervously over the buttons that controlled the window and the glass that isolated the driver from the passengers.</p><p>"Not really," I replied on guard, and calmed down when instead of raising the internal glass, he simply rolled down his window. Suddenly,<em> La chou brûlée </em>came to my mind, the restaurant that had a reputation for being the best in Chin City, but I hated it after the only visit I made with Aang. I was struck by the suspicion that he might want to take me there.</p><p>"Wait, wait, I changed my mind. I do have a preference. My favorite is the Jasmine Dragon” perhaps he would consider it a place for peasants and be uncomfortable. That would be a bonus.</p><p>“Perfect. It's also my favorite.” He gave me a huge smile in which I couldn't find sarcasm or pretense, and I couldn't help but smile in response.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>I blessed the tea knowledge my uncle had instilled in me, because it had allowed me to chat over dinner without embarrassing myself too much. I could feel that she was still on guard around me, so a conversation that didn't involve many personal details (like tea-making techniques) was a safe topic.</p><p>Everything started to take on a dreamy tinge after we passed the airport security filters, and even more so when we settled into the airplane seats. It was hard to believe that Katara was actually traveling with me. I didn't know what to do with my hands and constantly looked out of the corner of my eye to make sure she was still there.</p><p>"This is the first time I'm on a plane," she stated, looking around with wide eyes and listening to the flight attendants' security explanations. “It feels different from the helicopter.”</p><p>She looked a bit nervous, and while it was probably due to the novelty posed by the flight, I wondered if it wasn't just the result of my yearning imagination.</p><p>Eventually, it became dark and the lights inside the plane went out. Katara covered herself with one of the courtesy blankets and closed her eyes, allowing me to watch her for a few minutes without trying to hide it.</p><p> After midnight, she fell asleep. Without realizing it, she slid until she was leaning on my shoulder. And that became very close to the best moment of my life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And it was about halfway through this chapter that I realized this had gotten out of hand. From here on, nothing was planned in the original version of the story, lol. Maybe except for the ending…</p><p>In other news, I had an epiphany (in the words of my partner, my mind bent like a cheeto): the ship Yue/Zuko exists @_@ I know that, unlike Katara, Yue's content in the series is barely one chapter and it has nothing to do with Zuko... but the sun/moon parallels work just as well as in Zutara and at the same time the dynamics between them would be so radically different TToTT. </p><p>Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving comments, and specially to rahidas04 for revising the chapters!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Caldera</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I left the plane very awake even though it was 5 in the morning. It was the first time I visited the Fire Nation, my passport had stamps only from the Earth Kingdom and the South Pole port.</p>
<p>The time we waited for the suitcase on the airport side I had a hard time looking at it. I was ashamed of the way I held onto his arm during the landing… in my defense, the take-off had had no effect on me.</p>
<p>A car was already waiting for us at the airport exit and this driver also helped me carry the suitcase to the trunk. I barely heard what Zuko was saying, amused by looking out the window at the activity of a city that was just beginning to wake up.</p>
<p>Once we got to the hotel, he came down with me. I wasn't sure if the nerves in my stomach were because I wanted him to come up to the room with me, or because I was afraid he would. Finally, he commissioned an employee to accompany me, carrying my suitcase, and said goodbye to me outside the elevator.</p>
<p>"I'll see you here at Reception at two." He shook my hand before the door closed.</p>
<p>This room was as luxurious as the one in the White Lotus, but smaller and without a jacuzzi; I was less sore from the plane ride than I was from the bus to Omashu, although the flight lasted a good eight hours. So even though I immediately lay down, it was difficult to sleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> What am I doing here? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The third time I rolled over in bed with that same question, I gave up and got up to turn on the television, which did little to distract me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> More important than that, why do I feel so good about being here? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I would have to be prostrate with grief, regretting the fight with my husband, pondering what I could do to remedy my marriage. Instead, I found myself in the middle of an expedition requested by the same man who sparked my fight with Aang. Without regretting my presence here or regretting it in the least, I might add.</p>
<p>It struck eight, and the buffet that Zuko had mentioned as included with the room gave me a chance to distract myself. The last few weeks I had gotten used to eating breakfast alone. No, "get used to" no, rather "desensitize"; I had always been accompanied by Aang, Sokka or Grandma, or everyone. It was especially strange having breakfast alone outside the home.</p>
<p>Without much else to do, I went back upstairs and those lonely hours came unexpectedly well for me. Rather than rest, they allowed me to think about things that I had not even wanted to contemplate at home, despite the abundance of hours alone there.</p>
<p>Beneath the sadness, the pain over Aang's escape… I was very angry. And even lower beneath that, I was hurt. When he took his things, he could at least leave a note, but nothing. I had no idea where he was, if he was okay, if I would be able to contact him at some point. He escaped without offering an apology, an explanation, or even a "I need some time." He just disappeared.</p>
<p>Family at the South Pole was the most important thing, what historically helped us survive. When I married Aang, I accepted him as my family. To family, you entrusted your life. Unconditional support, respect for promises, the certainty that they were there for you.</p>
<p>He was gone. Taking his things was like reneging on the promise of "family" to me. But was it fair to hold him to the standards of a culture that was not his own?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Yes, because he knows what it meant. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I felt helpless and disoriented. I hated the days of inaction, of standing still and waiting. That was perhaps why the need to accept this journey was so strong. The most childish and petty part of me wished a little that Aang would decide to look for me these days, so that he would not find me in the house, to see if he liked feeling what I felt.</p>
<p>What if he was looking for me, back home? If not?</p>
<p>Although it was going to be a fortune, I followed the instructions on the phone to call Yue, who had no news of Aang. Then Suki, and Grandma.</p>
<p>"An opportunity arose in Caldera. For work,” I said cheerfully.</p>
<p>"I'm glad, my little one. Did Aang go with you?</p>
<p>"No, he stayed in Chin City," I believed, at least. So much for the hope that, not being at home, he would look for me with my family.</p>
<p>And while being alone was strange, it was also curiously liberating.</p>
<p>I still had a residual concern over Zuko's request, but if anything could be said about him, it was that I had never received less than courteous action from him, regardless of my own tone when speaking to him. He had always given me options.</p>
<p>One more question remained; How did he feel about Zuko?</p>
<p>I blushed as I thought back to the night on the yacht. Attraction was one of the ingredients and I was sure it wasn't the only one, although I had no idea what the others were.</p>
<p>I was afraid that maybe the attraction combined with the novelty was what made him so attractive in my eyes. It couldn't be anything else, could it? I bit my lip. That was something I didn't feel ready to face. Only time would tell.</p>
<p>I went down fifteen minutes before the hour to wait for him to arrive. I pretended to be distracted by one of the available magazines, but my gaze was constantly focused on the entrance, waiting for the now familiar appearance of Zuko.</p>
<p>Once I located him, I put the magazine on the table and walked over to him.</p>
<p>“Are you ready?” he seemed to hesitate for a moment before offering his arm to me, like that night, back in Omashu.</p>
<p>I nodded and accepted the support, all too aware of the parts of my skin touching the fabric of his jacket. He led me to the car that picked us up from the airport and opened the door for me before giving the driver instructions. He deliberately avoided saying the name of the restaurant.</p>
<p>"Is it going to be another Jasmine Dragon?" I scoffed, half seriously. I would be uncomfortable in a fancy restaurant despite my more or less new green cotton dress.</p>
<p>"No, I actually know another restaurant here that I want to take you to," he countered with a smile. “You cannot come to Caldera without trying the typical food.”</p>
<p>Against what I had feared, we arrived at a small restaurant, with red-painted wooden walls and modest plank tables. The menu consisted almost entirely of noodles, in many different preparations.</p>
<p>We settled in one of the tables to wait for our order.</p>
<p>"The first time I came, my uncle brought me." He smiled, as if seeing a good memory. “He always has recommendations on what has to do with food and drink, especially when it comes to tea.”</p>
<p>"You seem very close to your uncle," I regretted the question immediately when I saw his smile falter for an instant.</p>
<p>"When that happened…" He pointed to his left eye and looked away, "he was the one who took care of me at the hospital and then took me with him. He wanted to take my sister too, but my father wouldn't allow it. The argument was that he did not have much money and that he suffered from his mental faculties…”</p>
<p>So <em> this </em> was what I saw in his eyes on the night of the yacht. It was horrible, and he hadn't even mentioned his mother's disappearance, although I was surprised that he had a sister. With my heart heavy with compassion and empathy, I reached for his hand and he was startled.</p>
<p>"At least you had him." He shook my hand back, apologetically.</p>
<p>“Sorry. I don't want to burden you with the whole depressing story of my family. Anyway, since I was 13 I have lived with my uncle and it is the best thing that could happen to me” he tried to smile.</p>
<p>"He must be a great person," my companion nodded enthusiastically. It seemed wise to change the subject, I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable or think he was invading his privacy. “Tell me more about what we'll be doing this afternoon.”</p>
<p>Our drinks arrived and I took a sip. It was heavenly and I closed my eyes for an instant. There weren't that many tropical fruits in Chin City. He seemed relieved.</p>
<p>“Sure… In the annual budget, the company designated an amount for “social responsibility” in the places that we have buildings. At the beginning of the year a call was opened and basically, this afternoon and tomorrow morning many candidates will come to present their proposals” his hands ran around the outline of his own glass, but he spoke without hesitation. “It will be the two of us, my assistant Ty Lee and two other members of the board of directors. Our job will be to listen and ask questions. Tomorrow afternoon, we discuss and decide how the resources will be applied.”</p>
<p>The food arrived and the restaurant owner himself came over. Apparently he was close friends with Mr. Iroh, I finally learned the name of Zuko's uncle, and appreciated the visit of the nephew with "such a lovely lady." Said nephew turned the red of the wall. He must have been older than me, but he was still blushing like a teenager and was… oddly endearing.</p>
<p>After lunch, we took the car and all the way to the Fire Corp. building, I couldn't stay still. This was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to learn in college. I was dying to do a good job, even though all I really had was good will.</p>
<p>The Fire Corp. building rose to the lowest clouds, all covered in gleaming dark glass windows. As soon as we walked in, a couple of things became clear to me: One, Zuko wasn't very good with people, and two, all of his employees seemed to adore him despite that. It took us a while to reach the elevator because of all the people stopping to greet him, and by extension, greet me.</p>
<p>Finally, we reached a high-floor reception, where we were greeted by a young woman dressed in a tailored pink tailored suit and stilettos.</p>
<p>"Katara, this is Ty Lee, my friend and assistant without whom this entire building would collapse." There was genuine affection and pride in his gaze towards her. I stifled the sudden, inexplicable pang of jealousy as best I could.</p>
<p>“Hello!” Ty Lee's braid swayed from side to side with glee. “I'm so glad you could come, of all of us Zuzu is the only one who has been to the South Pole and it was like two hours, in which he managed to get into a fight.”</p>
<p>"Why am I not surprised, <em> Zuzu </em>?" I turned to see him, emphasizing a certain sarcasm in his nickname. My gesture smoothed down to one of slightly strained politeness to answer Ty Lee. “I'm also glad to be here.”</p>
<p>"Please come in. It's almost time for the first team to start.” Ty Lee glanced at a nearby group of three boys who were nervously squeezing a set of scrolls and staring at us with wide eyes.</p>
<p>I followed my hosts through another door, where an older man was already waiting for us.</p>
<p>"Mr. Shyu, thank you for your punctuality. Will Mr. Kaja be here soon?” Zuko questioned as he entered.</p>
<p>"I received the bad news that you will not be able to accompany due to health issues, nothing serious." The man got to his feet with some difficulty. “I don't think it will be a problem, especially since we’re getting more feedback.”</p>
<p>He smiled benevolently in my direction and I stepped forward.</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you, my name is Katara Hannak." I held out my hand and he shook it. “I hope I can be of help.”</p>
<p>"I'm sure you will." From the table, he picked up a pile of sheets that piled up in front of him. “I took the liberty of preparing this rubric to evaluate the projects, there is a space for notes. After the presentation, we can ask the presentators any questions.”</p>
<p>"If you like, I'll let the first ones in," Ty Lee offered, and Zuko nodded. Meanwhile, he guided me to one of the chairs, next to him. On his other side was Lord Shyu.</p>
<p>The nervous group outside walked in, preceded by Ty Lee who sat next to me, and one of them introduced them while another held out their posters.</p>
<p>"We titled our project ‘Snow Paradise’” The one who presented was the only one out of the three who didn't seem nervous. “Our vision is to create a tourist complex on land close to the beaches that has everything that guests require to do a wide range of activities. To achieve this, the plan is divided into three phases. In the first, the hotel building with a restaurant and thirty rooms, a dock for eight boats and the spa will be built.”</p>
<p>He was pointing out the plans and different illustrations on his posters.</p>
<p>“For phase two, once the flow of capital begins to stabilize, the construction of another building, the second restaurant and the bar will be done. In the medium-long term, since at least 50% of the initial investment has been recovered, work will be done on infrastructure for professional skiing, since the snow at the South Pole is of excellent quality for winter sports. Sadly, it is underused due to the lack of infrastructure to receive tourists.”</p>
<p>They spent the next time explaining the information that was in the pamphlets, the three construction phases complete with budgets and the promise of creating at least 150 permanent jobs in the first two years.</p>
<p>I furiously wrote down on Mr. Shyu's rubric, though I had no questions. My observations were more about how everything would fit together between the people of the South Pole. Instead, the others did question the team about budgets and dates.</p>
<p>“What do you think?” Once the team had said goodbye, Zuko leaned into my notes and his arm brushed mine. “You didn't ask anything.”</p>
<p>"The financial part is your business." I didn't look away from my sheets, it was simpler. “After seeing the other proposals, I will have more idea of what to advise.”</p>
<p>"Mai prefers cold weather. If we choose this project, when it is finished <em> I have to take her there </em>!” Ty Lee, on my other side, jotted something on her sheet with great joy.</p>
<p>"Mai is his girlfriend," Zuko whispered to me.</p>
<p>"Oh," I gave her an apologetic smile that she couldn't see. I couldn’t explain that bolt of jealousy from before.</p>
<p>“Next one?” Ty Lee asked. Zuko nodded and she let another group pass, this one of four people.</p>
<p>After introducing themselves, they gave us a set of sheets with the title “Sanctuary of the Southern Lights”. Camp style, the place was also focused on tourism.</p>
<p>“The public to whom the proposal is directed is adventure tourists. Prepare a part of the forest for camping, create trails and have facilities for medical care and research of local fauna. There is already a section prepared for camping, with limited cabins. We are in contact with them.”</p>
<p>I looked closely at their posters. It seemed that their bet was focused on promoting the Glacier Festival, held every year, to attract more tourists, as well as the southern auroras that we went to look for. Once as children, and another time when Sokka turned 18.</p>
<p>"With construction completed in a year or less, the project becomes self-sustaining in five years." That was a huge improvement over the previous project, and I wrote it down.</p>
<p>There were some questions, but in fact I knew the camp they worked with; I was beginning to feel a preference for that project. After they came out, I did some stretches on my chair, somehow three hours had already passed.</p>
<p>"Last one for today." Ty Lee stifled a yawn, the only sign of weariness on her attitude, before going to the door and letting the team pass.</p>
<p>That project was about starting a more effective trade in the fishing that was done in the South Pole.</p>
<p>“With a mixture of industrial and traditional methods, we plan to increase the production of fish and products such as sea plums, algae and sustainable exploitation of tiger seals for meat and skins, whose quality is known worldwide,” explained the presenter, leaving on our table a sample of hides tanned in different ways. “The same ships will serve to carry the products to the ports of the Earth Kingdom for distribution.”</p>
<p>The budget was as high as the first project. Ships were expensive.</p>
<p>"An additional benefit is that, by being present in the waters, we can help monitor and reduce the problems of smuggling illegal goods and native species, which are among the most serious in the South Pole," she finished triumphantly.</p>
<p>"It's an excellent craft," I congratulated the girl by returning her fur sampler. “Where do you have the workshops?”</p>
<p>"Near the Shipwreck," she answered, smiling. “My grandparents started their workshop. Part of the budget is to hire more employees and to start exporting loafers, coats and other clothes.”</p>
<p>A couple of interventions later, they said goodbye too. Instead, a person loaded with sandwiches entered that apparently would be our dinner and what the other three seemed already used to.</p>
<p>“I know the real discussion is tomorrow, there’s still a project left. Out of these three, what do you think?” Zuko asked, before taking a bite of his food.</p>
<p>"Neither competes with the other, the tourism ones are for different audiences," Mr. Shyu was the first to speak. “Fishing is well thought out in its business model, but it exceeds our budget by a visible margin.”</p>
<p>“The fishing and the ‘Sanctuary’ involve the community. They seem better to me.” I leaned back on the table. I refused to let exhaustion interrupt me, and the food was helping to wake me up a bit.</p>
<p>"The audience for 'Paradise' makes a lot of money," Ty Lee pointed out. “Especially since the prices would be lower than at the Earth Kingdom winter resorts.”</p>
<p>"This is what I mean, the three projects are not in competition with each other." Mr. Shyu put a hand on his gray beard, where there were now some breadcrumbs. “Dividing the budget that we have would give a good start for the ‘Sanctuary’ but it would greatly limit any of the other two to whom we give the other part of the money.”</p>
<p>That was an excellent point. But even the smallest amount of money would go a long way to start fishing with one or two boats, while the luxury hotel would have even more difficulty starting with less money.</p>
<p>The debate continued without her noticing how much time had passed, until Mr. Shyu left at around nine at night. Still, I kept discussing with Ty Lee the relative merits of each bussiness model at the South Pole.</p>
<p>Until an hour later she too yawned deeply and advised that we continue the discussion the next day. And I was left alone with Zuko in an office inside a nearly empty skyscraper.</p>
<p>My hand flew to the pendant on my necklace and I rubbed the familiar pattern with my fingers. I didn't know where to look, all too aware of what we did together the last time I was alone with him at night. How did you behave with someone in this situation?</p>
<p>"Which one is your favorite project?" He gathered up the leftover napkins from dinner and used one to remove the crumbs.</p>
<p>"There’s still one presentation tomorrow" I reminded him. Ty Lee had made me doubt my arguments and now I felt uncertain as to which one he would recommend the next day.</p>
<p>"Only your favorite, not necessarily the one you think should win." Pitcher of water in hand, he offered to fill my glass again and I accepted with a nod.</p>
<p>I took a sip before answering.</p>
<p>“When my brother turned 18, we went with Dad to a camp, the same one mentioned by the ‘Sanctuary’” Aang didn't go with us, because he failed a subject and stayed to study under the tutelage of GranGran. “To look for the southern auroras that we once saw all together when we were children. We don't have many moments as a family, those two visits are one of my best memories.”</p>
<p>He nodded solemnly.</p>
<p>"For me, it's a beach on Ember Island," he whispered very quietly. He understood. It was a pleasant surprise and I smiled warmly.</p>
<p>"I also remember that my mom got me a winter parka when I was five years old." I arranged the excess sheets. I put the piles in front of their respective owners' place, to help her put the table in order. It was the only thing I wore, all day, every day. At first it was huge because she bought it to last me at least two years. When it got too small for me, she bought me another one, but she recovered the embroidery and ornaments from the old parka and sewed them on the new one... then she passed away and I haven't found a parka like that again, only synthetic fabric coats. So even if they don't win, I'll go find their workshop to have one made.”</p>
<p>"That's why you asked." A glint of understanding reached his eyes. “Do you know the place, where the workshop is?”</p>
<p>And that show of interest on his part was all I needed to keep talking. I embarked on a narrative of my unsuccessful searches for parkas, the food I couldn't find in Chin City, and the dishes I missed and only ate on trips to Grandma's house. It felt like years had passed since I had been able to talk about all this with someone.</p>
<p>The only thing that stopped me was a yawn that prevented me from finishing the sentence. Zuko laughed.</p>
<p>“Go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. ”He let me pass first at the door and turned off the lights as he left. On the way down he put a hand on my back, and that touch did more to wake me up than an espresso coffee.</p>
<p>The guard downstairs greeted him with the familiarity of someone who saw him frequently, and handed him some car keys.</p>
<p>When we got to the car, he seemed undecided which door to open for me.</p>
<p>"At the front is fine." I got a smile back and he climbed into the driver's seat. “I thought you couldn't live without a driver.”</p>
<p>"For the day, it's handy not to have to find a place to park." He turned the key and started the engine. “At night ... I wouldn't keep a driver waiting if I thought of staying here until 3 in the morning.”</p>
<p>Unlike the previous hour, he was the one who began to tell me about his life. Interestingly, like me and Sokka, he learned how to navigate at sea before learning to drive.</p>
<p>"The first vehicle I drove was the truck to supply the Jasmine Dragon. It took my uncle several years to really get the business going, ”he commented with the same soft smile he had in the restaurant.</p>
<p>"Your uncle founded the Jasmine Dragon?" I turned to look at him stunned.</p>
<p>"Didn't I say it before?" He frowned without taking his eyes off the road.</p>
<p>"No, I'm sure you missed it." I playfully smacked him on the arm.</p>
<p>“Hey!” He complained with a smile. “Sorry. We lived in the Dragon of the West for a couple of years, until my uncle found someone to rent it and with that money he got the place for the tea shop. The business could start to pay off earlier, but my uncle paid for my university…”</p>
<p>He kept talking. For many years he served as a waiter in the tea shop and later in management jobs in different small companies. None of those jobs were as he envisioned the son of Ozai, owner of half the Fire Nation. And one of the first things he did when he got a job was to start remodeling the yacht, to leave it like when I was there.</p>
<p>"What places did you visit on the yacht?" "Traveling at sea was what my father did. “I wouldn’t have minded seeing the world on board a ship in my teens.”</p>
<p>"We boarded here, in the port of Caldera. The first few months I was a nightmare… the whole first year, I don't know how my uncle put up with me. I don't remember very well the places we visited in that time.”</p>
<p>We entered the hotel parking lot. He put on the parking brake and we were silent for a few seconds. I made no move to get down or even move. In the low light of the parking lot, his eyes seemed almost silver and they flicked a glance to my lips.</p>
<p>My heart began to pound like a drum, I was almost afraid he would hear it. But instead of kissing me, he pulled away hastily and tried to get out of the car without removing his seat belt. I was still laughing when he opened my door to help me out.</p>
<p>"Finish telling me about the places you visited," I asked him, taking his arm as we entered the hotel lobby and pressed the elevator button. I sensed his indecision, but I refused to remove my hand from his arm and he entered with me.</p>
<p>“Er… Many ports in the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation taxes for docking in their waters were too high for us. We went north and turned around…”</p>
<p>We got out of the elevator and his voice sounded strangled on a few syllables. We got to my door when he was listing Kyoshi and the South Pole and I could almost see him shake. He stopped pretending to tell me anything.</p>
<p>We looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. I felt light, at peace, authentically me. And flattered by the effect my presence had on him.</p>
<p>"Thank you." I hugged him, and felt his arms tighten and then close around my waist. I allowed myself a selfish moment of relaxation in the warmth I remembered from the night at the Dragon of the West before parting with him. “Goodnight.”</p>
<p>I closed the door without waiting for an answer, but his lingering gaze said many things without words.</p>
<p>It was almost midnight and the day before he had slept on a plane. However, I did not feel tired. On the contrary, it was filled with an excitement that I had not felt for a long time, and while part of it was due to my desire to listen to the latest project proposal and decide the one that would help the South Pole the most, another part had very different reasons.</p>
<p>I got ready for sleep, in the worn summer pajamas that were perfect for Caldera climate. In one corner of my mind, the pros and cons of today's projects were still swaying, but a larger part was occupied with the unsuspected details of Zuko's life and these last hours together. I sighed, blushing at the memory of the hug, and buried my face in the pillow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Why did I want so badly for Zuko to walk through that door?</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The sound of the elevator opening snapped me out of my trance and kept me from staring at her door for the rest of the night. I didn't bump into other guests on the way back to the car and absentmindedly returned the hotel staff's goodbye upon leaving.</p>
<p>It was so hard not to kiss her in the car. I didn't want to scare her by acting too early. But maybe she reciprocated my interest. Because it was obvious that I was interested, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>It was dangerously easy to tell her things, even the depressing details of my life (which I would have preferred to avoid). I didn't want to scare her away; I would delay as long as possible for her to find out about all my failures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And maybe… just maybe, she would give me a chance.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was another accidental chapter. Chapters 12 and 13 were, at first, the same. It grew to be monstrous and since I did find where to cut it, here is the first part xD It also changed a lot in the last minutes before being published, thanks to a sugar frenzy caused by strawberry ice cream and chocolates.</p>
<p>Thank you all for reading and to rahidas04 for revising this work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Fire Sages</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The hotel alarm clock left me a bit disoriented upon waking. The excitement at the day's plans (which definitely had nothing to do with Zuko's close presence) instilled such anticipation that the fatigue disappeared. I ate breakfast in a hurry and Zuko picked me up at 8:30 sharp.</p><p>On the car ride, I sat closer to him. I was all too aware of the casual little touches and his wary smile when he offered me his arm to enter the building.</p><p>When we entered, Mr. Shyu and Ty Lee were already prepared and there were some trays of sandwiches on the table.</p><p>"How did you sleep?" My eyes widened at the hint in Ty Lee's voice, but she left no room for an answer. “We’re ready to start the last presentation!”</p><p>She let in a group of three people, and Zuko's face looked hot enough to grill something on top. We avoided looking at each other, and the discreet Lord Shyu pretended not to notice anything as the team introduced themselves.</p><p>"We want to decontaminate the freshwater bodies closest to the old Fire Corp. factories." That got my attention, but I had to accept that they were the least prepared team we'd seen so far. They did not carry extra materials and their images were few. The biggest problem, however, was that it was a temporary initiative, not a business model as such.</p><p>The advantage was that they finished early, with an apology from Zuko telling them that it was not exactly what the company was looking for.</p><p>Ty Lee closed the door behind the dejected participants and returned to the table.</p><p>"So what's your final assessment for all projects?" Lord Shyu leaned back in his chair.</p><p>I got to my feet, a little stiff, and was about to pour more water, but Zuko stepped forward at the same time and our hands touched on the handle of the jug. Instead of withdrawing, I smiled at him.</p><p>Ty Lee cleared his throat, but before I had time to feel embarrassed, the door swung open to admit a middle-aged man with a few grays in his hair and an otherwise dark beard. Dressed in a brown suit, he carried several posters wrapped around one arm and the curve of his mouth exuded a gesture of superiority.</p><p>"Mr. Bujing?" Zuko asked in an incredulous voice. Beside us, Ty Lee also had an outraged face, it didn't seem like a good sign.</p><p><em> "Master </em>Bujing, please." His wrinkles and already sharp cheekbones deepened. “I am here to present my idea for the company’s money.”</p><p>There was a moment of stunned silence, in which I turned to see Zuko in bewilderment. He looked as surprised as I was.</p><p>"The convocation explicitly forbade a board member or any first-degree relative from submitting a…" Lord Shyu began.</p><p>"And the board of directors considered it an injustice," Master Bujing interrupted. “Losing good ideas to the detriment of the South Pole due to such a limitation… here I have the signatures of a majority of the Fire Sages who accredit their agreement with my presence here, and with the project that I represent.”</p><p>A bunch of paper sheets passed into Zuko’s hands, who was not very good at masking his obvious dislike of the man and his allies.</p><p>Neither Ty Lee nor I had sat back and the newcomer wasted no time. He beckoned to someone else, and the assistant proceeded to spread out the posters as previous projects had done.</p><p>"Mr. Shyu, dear Mr. Azulon." There was a hint of mockery in the way he addressed Zuko with his father's last name and despite the distance, I felt the tension that settled in his gesture at being called that. “My proposal is of an elementary nature, evident, and I would dare to say that it was omitted by the previous participants.”</p><p>He unrolled the last of the posters, which showed a plan of a building.</p><p>"This is a new airport for the South Pole," he announced with an unnatural smile. “The beginning of civilization for that land is connecting with the rest of the world.”</p><p>The offense sounded so carefree that at first I couldn't believe what I heard. Zuko clenched his fists on the table and gave up all pretense of civility to fall into a gesture of open anger.</p><p>Master Bujing went on to speak of technical terms of building materials, architecture, and airplane models that seemed to make as little sense to me as they did to everyone else. But a very specific part of all that gibberish caught my eye.</p><p>“The lands that will be processed are those adjacent to the Ice Bay. It is ideal in terms of aviation. With a construction company that has experience in this sector, it is no longer necessary to make a tender to start the works.”</p><p>Lord Shyu gave a choked exclamation. It seemed that Ty Lee was the only one not showing annoyance with the presenter. Except that the kind smile on her face looked like a mask.</p><p>"I hope there are no questions. As the Fire Sages’s document says, I already have a majority of votes within the organization. You just need to formalize it,” he finished with poorly concealed contempt.</p><p>I did, however, have a question.</p><p>"What land did you say it will occupy?" I frowned. I still doubted that I had heard correctly. The other option was plainly absurd.</p><p>"I don't see how details are the concern of a person from the service." He wrinkled his nose, not deigning to answer me.</p><p>“How dare...?” Zuko started to stand up, but I silently asked him to let me continue by putting a hand on his arm.</p><p>"It doesn't matter if the question comes from the<em> service, </em> if you have the answer." I crossed my arms without giving an inch. He frowned, but responded after feeling pressure from the others.</p><p>"I thought it was clear. Like I said, Ice Bay.” He went to a map and pointed to the exact point on the coast. “Government permits are already in process.”</p><p>"And you must have an impressive engineering plan if you intend to put an airport in an area that spends at least a third of the year flooded.” I thought of some of the buildings back home that were always under repair.</p><p>It was called “Ice Bay” for a reason. During spring and summer time, the whole place became a series of rapid rivers that connected the lake with the sea and where the rituals of ice dodging were held. And a set of buildings were built near there, that couldn’t be used due to weakening in the structures. Sokka kept talking about it the entirety of the previous vacations, as well as railing against foreign construction companies and dubious deals with the city government.</p><p>"I don't aspire for you to understand the finer details of the planning." He narrowed his eyes. “I just need the signature of Mr. Azulon.”</p><p>He dropped a thick sheaf of papers in front of Zuko, apparently for him to sign.</p><p>"Make it quick," he demanded. Contempt was still plain in his voice, but a quick glance at the papers betrayed a certain nervousness.</p><p>"Surely you'll spare a few minutes to explain this magnificent engineering strategy, since Miss Hannak brought it up," Mr. Shyu chimed in, as Zuko's teeth were too clenched to speak.</p><p>This time, the nervous hesitation was visible. He tried to mask it with a thicker coberture of contempt, and embarked on something that sounded suspiciously like a replay of what he had already said.</p><p>"We have the latest technology in concrete and strategically placed pillars are all that is needed for the building." His voice turned irate.</p><p>"As efficient as the materials may be, water erodes." Adrenaline began to flow through my veins; only certain social conventions seemed to keep his desire to physically attack me at bay. There was a lot of running water at the South Pole, that's why we avoided building in de-icing places.</p><p>Off to the side, Ty Lee had leaned over the papers and whispered something to Zuko.</p><p>"It's the fault of your primitive methods!" He almost shouted, spraying spit everywhere.</p><p>"Maintenance is so important that it’s been included in the contract." Lord Shyu had approached the papers and was reading them as well. “So much so that there is already a 35-year concession to the construction company for repairs to the building. Didn't you mention that you owned one? I can't remember the name. I'm sure you can get us out of doubt.”</p><p>Bujing opened his eyes with a terrified look and tried to retrieve the sheaf of papers, but Zuko already had it in his hand and pushed it out of reach.</p><p>"I see you even signed it for us, how considerate," Ty Lee approached. “We won’t even have to prove the authenticity of the document. A few billions of yuan direct to your own company, for a building that was conceived as disposable…”</p><p>The man's face turned purple.</p><p>“The strategies that were used in my father's time are no longer those favored by this company. I hope it was perfectly clear.” Zuko's voice was sharper than a sword.</p><p>"Now, Mr. Bujing, serve to retire. We must deliberate the candidate projects, among which is not yours,” said Mr. Shyu with insulting courtesy.</p><p>He seemed about to explode with anger, but ended up withdrawing with one last look that spilled black bile. Seeing him disappear brought me deep satisfaction.</p><p>Ty Lee ran to an intercom by the phone and gave orders for Security to check that Bujing actually left the building.</p><p>"Did that really just happen?" Zuko dropped into the chair and threw up his arms. “Are we finally free of him? At last?”</p><p>"The audit has yet to be formalized and there will surely be retaliation from Zhao," Lord Shyu noted with some severity. Then he smiled.”He won’t dare to try anything now.”</p><p>I made a mental note of everything I was hearing as Ty Lee took the sheaf of paper and put it inside a locked drawer.</p><p>"So, regarding what Mr. Bujing has declared about his construction company at the South Pole and everyone who signed…" Zuko left the sentence hanging in the air.</p><p>"I know exactly where to look." Ty Lee smiled with a murderous glint in his eyes. “I got this.”</p><p>"Before that, we need to decide the winning project," Lord Shyu stopped her, because she looked like she was about to bolt outside the office.</p><p>Reluctantly, she returned to the table and sat down. The throbbing in my temples bode the start of a migraine, but I got over it and went over my notes from the day before. Ty Lee seemed in a hurry to leave, and her defense of the luxury hotel was less passionate than before. As the fishing project included a plan to transport the products with the boats, we decided that would be it. It seemed wonderful to me, because it would allow more traditional garments to be produced that might otherwise disappear, and perhaps more seafood that I missed so much would arrive in Chin City.</p><p>"Their budget was higher than what we have planned to finance. They will have to rearrange the plan to one less ship, or a smaller one.” Zuko made some other adjustments.</p><p>"I'll give them the good news on Monday." Ty Lee pulled a small notebook from a pocket of his pink jacket and made a note before hurriedly leaving the office.</p><p>Lord Shyu was already getting to his feet as well.</p><p>"I feel a little bad about the projects that didn't win," I sighed. “They have good ideas too.”</p><p>Besides that, they had traveled all the way to Caldera. The girl who presented the fur samples was obviously from the South Pole, like me. I especially regretted the "Sanctuary" project, that camp had a lot of sentimental meaning for me. My train of thought was lost when I noticed Zuko's gaze on me. So much so that I almost missed his next words.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"If the ‘Sanctuary’ group is willing to sell shares instead of accepting a loan, I'm sure we can push it forward. On a personal note, I'm interested.” Both Katara and Mr. Shyu looked at me in surprise, but Katara's face lit up with a smile, and that was the reaction that mattered to me.</p><p>"Sounds like a good plan. I am interested in collaborating with the ‘Ice Paradise’ initiative. It seemed to me that Miss Ty Lee too, and with her as an ally, they’ll gather a group of investors in no time.” Mr. Shyu rearranged his suit.</p><p>Even if I hadn't been watching, Katara's gleam of happiness was impossible to ignore.</p><p>“Thank you!” She said goodbye to Lord Shyu, and once he was gone, she turned to me. “It’s wonderful! Sure, it won't be right away, it will take a few years. But everything will get so much better at the South Pole! I'd say it turned out better than I expected.”</p><p>"Absolutely," I replied. And I wasn’t even talking about getting rid of Bujing, a faithful follower of my father and then my sister. I said it because she was there, talking to me as if she trusted me, as if she considered me a friend.</p><p>"As soon as I can go to the South Pole, I'm going to find that fur shop. I'd tell Gran Gran to go commission a parka for me, but I think it's best if they take my measurements directly… ” She went on to list the positive aspects of the winning project, and then about all the projects that would eventually be active, even if they took longer. On one level of my mind, I was listening to her. In another, I was enraptured, watching the way her eyes sparkled with plans and ideas, the passion she poured into her words, and all the energy implicit in her voice and gestures.</p><p>I already had another reason for wanting to be with her. I could hardly imagine someone better able to help me repair all the damages of my family in the world. Even better, she was someone with whom I was absolutely, irrevocably, in love.</p><p>She had so much to offer me in a relationship. It remained to be seen if what I had was enough to convince her. Because she didn't seem especially attracted by money.</p><p>"Anyway, thanks for asking me to come here." Her eyes were shining.</p><p>"Thank <em> you </em> for coming." I had the urge to hug her, which scared me a bit because it wasn't one of my usual impulses. I tried to return to neutral ground. “The rest of the afternoon is free…”</p><p>She looked at me, not helping me finish the implied question.</p><p>"Would you like to know the city? At night we can go have dinner downtown. The restaurants there aren’t as good as the one from yesterday, but they are worth it for the view” a bit like myself: quite mediocre with an attribute or two that might convince her to spend time with me.</p><p>"Don't you have much pending work?" She asked me with a half smile. “I don't want to take your time. Time is money and all that.”</p><p>I laughed. I would gladly give all my time to her.</p><p>"Honestly, it's less than it would seem. The company is organized so that many things work almost autonomously and the only indispensable obligation is to attend the monthly shareholders meeting…” There were many other small details, but I preferred not to mention that I deliberately took 10 days to be with her. “So if you want I can show you the Royal Gallery, they are exhibiting some classical paintings, or go to the Royal Square and see the statues…”</p><p>"If you can find a place that doesn't have 'royal' in the name, count me in." She stood up and took her bag, which was the same one she brought to the yacht. “Agreed?”</p><p>"Consider it done," I offered him my arm again. I didn't know if it was my imagination or she was actually walking closer to me.</p><p>My last relationship, that had been with Mai, ended before I took over the company. The fact that I was arm in arm with a woman (not counting what Ty Lee would say to all the employees) was enough to attract attention. It was a real good fortune not to have to visit Caldera often.</p><p>On the short walk between the office and the car, I racked my brain thinking of possibilities. The royal past of the Fire Nation was so ubiquitous that it was difficult to find a place that wasn't called "royal," and Katara's closeness didn't help my concentration.</p><p>I finally settled on the turtle-duck pond. It was possibly built by royalty, but at least it didn't say so in the name. On the way there, I continued the talk.</p><p>'The royal family of the country died out a few generations ago. My grandfather, among many other things, said that we were a lost branch of the royal family,” I shrugged. It never seemed like more than our strict grandfather’s family anecdote. “At some point he tried to prove that his father was the illegitimate son of the then Fire Lord.”</p><p>"Wow! That means you're a prince.” She covered her mouth with her hands, in feigned surprise. “And me, merely a peasant... excuse me, your majesty.”</p><p>"He couldn't prove it, of course." I crossed my arms. “Or you would have to address me as <em> Fire Lord Zuko </em>.”</p><p>I laughed with her at the absurdity of that notion and the joyous atmosphere continued until we reached the iron fence of the park. At the kiosk I bought oatmeal to feed the turtle ducks and we took one of the cobbled paths to finally settle on a bench by the pond.</p><p>"Don't get too close at first, wait for them to feel confident." We drew the first handfuls of flakes, as I remembered nostalgically from my childhood. “My mother used to bring us here when we were children, behind the back of our father. He didn’t like it, he said that it ‘distracted us from our duties’.”</p><p>She stirred on the bench.</p><p>"If it's not too out of place, what happened to your sister?" Her gaze said that she already sensed that it was not a good thing. The first turtle-ducks were already swimming directly in front of us.</p><p>"I don't mind telling you," and it was true. “But it isn’t a pretty story, like all the family ones.”</p><p>I looked at my hands. I had spent many sleepless nights thinking about what I could have done to make Azula suffer less. I never found good answers.</p><p>"Are you sure you want to know?"</p><p>Instead of answering, she leaned toward me with her chin resting on her hands, waiting. I smiled with some sadness.</p><p>"Azula is almost three years younger than me and she was a child prodigy."</p><p>With a heavy sigh, I followed the narration. She had entered Ba Sing Se University at age 14, started controlling the company at 18, two years after our father went to prison and the company was immersed in an ownership limbo.</p><p>They were bleak memories for me. She followed in our father's footsteps and in the early years, the entire board of directors adored her. They watched her gradually decline, down to her outright paranoia and aggressiveness from the last year. She had several openly corrupt deals, including one with the governor of Ba Sing Se, and she was afraid of being exposed. She fired almost all employees and brought in new ones, punished many on suspicion of treason, and even shareholders began to fear her. She fired Ty Lee, her longtime friend. I knew her, but we weren't close. Still, Ty Lee called me one night, terrified that she was afraid that Azula would do something irreparable.</p><p>"I came here, to the family home where Azula lived. The encounter ended with her nearly killing me” my vision was cloudy. “She was admitted to a sanatorium in Ba Sing Se. She doesn't appreciate my visits very much, but I visit anyway.”</p><p>Katara hugged me. After a moment of surprise, I responded with gratitude.</p><p>“I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I just brought up the bad memories.” She separated from me but our arms were still in contact. “I can't even imagine…”</p><p>“Thanks for listening. My uncle says it is good to talk about the things that hurt us. It helps or something.” I tried to be discreet by wiping a tear from my cheek.</p><p>"What happened is terrible. I wish you hadn't had to go through all that.”</p><p>"Sometimes I think I deserve it," I confessed quietly. “After everything my father and grandfather did.”</p><p>“Do not say that!” She turned to look at me angrily. “It wasn’t your fault at all, you cannot bear that guilt. Neither you nor your sister are responsible for what they did. You both got hurt.”</p><p>She was sitting to my left, with my scar perfectly visible to her. </p><p>"The important thing is that you are different," she whispered to me, and a raw feeling awakened in my chest that prevented me from answering anything. Was I really different? I had an immense desire to believe her.</p><p>We were silent for a few minutes. In a relative silence, because turtleducks were not distinguished for their stealth and silent disposition. I remembered that I had something else to say to her.</p><p>"This… I haven't thanked you yet. So thank you very much, for your help with Bujing's presentation. With a fraud charge like that, there is no way he will retain his power on the board of directors. That leaves me a majority by a small margin…” I doubted my ability to put into words the immense relief that Bujing's freezing of influence represented.</p><p>"You would’ve noticed the trap without my help." She smiled at me. “You were pretty wary against him.”</p><p>Maybe, but that wouldn't make me thank her any less.</p><p>"He's one of the oldest shareholders in the company, one of those closest to my sister," I began to explain tentatively. “The younger ones sometimes disagree with how I run the company, but they are not as aggressive as him, or Zhao.”</p><p>"What are those ‘Fire Sages’? He mentioned them a lot.” She frowned in sincere bewilderment. “They have the name of a religious sect.”</p><p>"My grandfather was the king of drama." I rolled my eyes. “That’s how he named the board of directors, just to flatter them. His vision was to have ‘the greatest company in the world’. My father interpreted it as ‘the company that has the tallest building in every major city in the world’ and that is how there are so many subsidiaries of the company.”</p><p>The flattering of the board of directors worked its magic. They all aligned themselves with his wishes and continued to do business with dubious methods. There were few industries in which there was not at least one participant who belonged to the Fire Corp.</p><p>It began to get dark, which meant that the park's closing time was approaching. We dumped what was left of the oatmeal over the water and walked back to the door, where the car was already waiting.</p><p>“Time for dinner?” She nodded enthusiastically and I asked the driver to take us downtown, to the Royal Square, where the government buildings stood tall around the place, as well as several restaurants and cafes.</p><p>As I had already mentioned, they did not stand out for the food but for the view. We ended up choosing one located on a terrace. The waiter led us to a table that had a view of the entire expanse of the square.</p><p>The quality of the food wasn't the biggest difference between the dinner we shared on the yacht and this one. It was Katara. Now she was relaxed and smiling and I was dying to hold her hand on the table. My courage was not that high yet.</p><p>The empty plates were taken away and we were left with our cups of tea. The medium quality of the content made me frown, and my discontent deepened as I found myself becoming more and more like my uncle.</p><p>She leaned back in her chair, taking small sips from her cup. It seemed like a good time to ask… I held my hands together in front of me; I wasn't sure they trembled, but that way it wouldn't show if they did.</p><p>"Since Mr. Tong offered you the whole week off, I was wondering if you wanted to go back to Chin City soon, or…" I swallowed. "… Or if you wanted to stay a few more days."</p><p>"It's true that I haven't been able to tour Caldera." There was a reaction on her part. I hoped it was good. “Though I don't want you to keep paying for my lodging, it doesn't seem fair to me.”</p><p>Oh, if only she knew that that was the last of my worries.</p><p>"It's not a bother…" I stopped when I saw her gesture darken a bit. It wasn't the right angle. “Have you ever been to Ba Sing Se?”</p><p>She was surprised by the suddenness of the question.</p><p>"No, it's one of the places I want to go to one day." That had turned out better than I expected. I spoke again before I had time to get more nervous.</p><p>"So if Caldera doesn't catch your eye, maybe you could take the days off… if you want to visit Ba Sing Se. I-I can offer you a place in my house and I have some days off myself in which we can go to see the city. It’s where the first Jasmine Dragon tea shop is, there are guided visits to the walls…” I tried to make the offer as attractive as I could “…and I don't know if you would be interested in visiting the university campus. The buildings are very old too.”</p><p>"I thought your house was here in Caldera." Did that mean she wanted me to invite her to stay at my house to continue in Caldera? I put that thought aside for later.</p><p>"There is my family's house, but I avoid going there as much as possible. I try not to be in Caldera much.” I didn't look at her as I gave my explanation. “So I thought it was better to go to Ba Sing Se… if you want.”</p><p>She looked at me with wide eyes and there was a silence that seemed eternal. I made an effort to hold her gaze as honestly as I could.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I ruined everything, that was asking too much, too soon, oh no... </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I'd love to visit Ba Sing Se." She had blushed in a charming way, "but…”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I ruined it, definitely, everything is ruined... </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed and tried not to flinch from the impending hit of rejection.</p><p>The silence lengthened again, which decided me to accelerate the disaster.</p><p>"Don't worry…" I started to say, but she started talking at the same time as me.</p><p>“There’s a problem.”</p><p>“Which one?” I asked immediately. If it was in my power to fix it, whatever it was...</p><p>She said a couple of incoherent syllables, until she shook her head nervously. It took her several more moments to speak.</p><p>"I don't have enough luggage for an extended visit," she finished without looking at me.</p><p>"Don't worry about it." Surely I had a stupidly big smile that I was unable to hide. “We can buy anything you need there.”</p><p>"Are you accompanying me?" She said it in a mocking tone, as if it were absurd.</p><p>"Of course, if you'll allow me," I answered without hesitation. I was sure that going with her would be very different from the one time I went shopping with Mai.</p><p>She was speechless and a warm feeling bloomed in my chest.</p><p>"If that was the only problem, I'll buy the tickets right away” for the first available flight, before the luck streak was over.</p><p>I paid for dinner, ignoring his insistence to cooperate, and we went back to the car. She stayed at the hotel again, but since we had a driver, I didn't come down to drop her off.</p><p>This was the complete opposite of everything in my life so far. From something good, something even better grew.</p><p>I told the driver to take me to the airport and after buying the tickets, I asked him to leave the car for me to go back to the company building. Upon arrival, the guard ushered me into the parking lot.</p><p>I put on the parking brake and cut the engine. Afterward, the excitement and happiness that had built up from the day before and until she accepted my invitation came out in the form of a wordless scream that I tried to drown behind my hands.</p><p>"I don't understand why, but thanks," I said in the silence of the car.</p><p>Exhausted, I reclined the seat. I would just close my eyes for a moment and then go back up to the office...</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"An unagi, you say?" I asked the girl whose notebook I was holding at the time.</p><p>"Yes, yes, unagi, please!" She applauded happily. It was a strange creature to inspire such enthusiasm in a 6 year old girl.</p><p>"Coming right away." I took the pencil and began to sketch the animal as best I could remember. I hadn’t drawn animals since that book that asked for illustrations of the aquatic fauna of the Southern Seas.</p><p>On one of my trips to the market, I had mentioned my situation to the fruit vendor, who in turn had told his brother, who told a friend who told another friend who had a souvenir and magazines shop at the airport. He had offered me a job to tend his store in the afternoons and part of the nights. Those payments greatly alleviated my situation, which was becoming desperate as I waited for a positive response to my job applications more in line with my abilities.</p><p>I finished the drawing and showed it to the girl.</p><p>"It's just how I imagined it." She was delighted and her mother, sitting in the waiting room across the street, seemed much calmer. “Is it ready? Can you put a hat on it?”</p><p>"What kind of hat?" I smiled at her and continued working on her drawing. “My father used to tell me a story about unagis, do you want to hear it?”</p><p>Her huge attentive eyes were the best audience I had ever had in my life. But finally the girl left to board her flight, which left shortly before midnight. I had known her for 20 minutes, but I missed her anyway. That must be what it was like to have a daughter.</p><p>The next flight with potential clients wouldn’t arrive until at least two hours later. In the late hours of the night, surrounded by the cold, hollow silence of an empty airport, I pulled out my notebook and the letters that I didn't have time to open before having to go to the store.</p><p>One envelope was the first rent bill, another was just an offer from the bank. I didn't want to know anything about banks and I disposed of it right away. The third envelope was something different and I opened it, my guts a bit churning… I had already had my first rejected application.</p><p>I unfolded the sheet and quickly scanned the contents. My shout of joy echoed too clearly in the empty room, startling the cafeteria manager across the hall.</p><p> </p><p>I had a job as a professor at the University of Omashu.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't know why this chapter was so difficult to write. It was a necessary transition, though… Thank you all for reading! And as always, special thanks to rahidas04 for her editing :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Ba Sing Se</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke up with a start, caused by the noise of something tapping on glass. At first I didn’t recognize my surroundings. I had fallen asleep in the car… and Ty Lee was on the other side of the door, staring impatiently at me through the glass.</p>
<p>"Ty? What time is it?” I asked, confused as she kept knocking on the window with her knuckles. Belatedly, I opened the door.</p>
<p>“Finally! Be thankful that the night guard decided to let me know that he let you in with the car and then didn’t see you leave.” She pushed a package in my direction. “You have time to change your clothes before going to pick up Katara.”</p>
<p>Inside the package I found a change of clothes, which included a more casual jacket that I could hardly remember ever wearing. Maybe it had been a gift from my uncle.</p>
<p>"And this." She handed me a key, the one to the family's house in Caldera. “I don't think Katara would like another girl coming and going from your house like nothing, even if she is your assistant to bring you things.”</p>
<p>"You put a lot of trust in my success to convince her that she cares about who enters my house." I put everything in the briefcase where the tickets were already, along with the key to a house that I avoided visiting at all costs.</p>
<p>"Yes I do," she said simply and with a radiant smile. “Just be yourself and when in doubt, ask yourself: what would Ty Lee advise me at this troubling time?”</p>
<p>"I don't know how many times I owe you my life." I got out of the car and we both walked toward the elevator. “Thanks, Ty.”</p>
<p>"You better hurry up and thank me with an invitation to your wedding," I stumbled.</p>
<p>"Isn't it a bit hasty to think about that?" My face burned. It wasn't like I hadn't thought of it, but it seemed very far-fetched to contemplate it at this point.</p>
<p>“Who knows? Maybe not as much as you think.” She winked and said goodbye to me to let me change before returning to the car and going to Katara, full of renewed energy.</p>
<p>I no longer had just determination. Now I also had hope.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The filters to enter the airport seemed shorter than in the last trip, or maybe it was that they were a little more familiar to me. The flight left at noon and it would last less than the one from Chin City to Caldera. We would arrive shortly before dark.</p>
<p>Zuko took me to eat a late lunch while I told him about my grandmother and my childhood at the South Pole, the absolute silence of the freezing winter nights, and the time I, together with my brother and Aang, dodged the ice in the rapids of the river. coast.</p>
<p>The conversation continued once we settled into our seats on the plane. Apparently he had inherited a certain love for theater plays from his mother. Eventually he finished telling me the plot of "Love Among Dragons", the play that he saw the most in his childhood. There was a bit of silence and I stared out the window, and was hit by the realization that an airplane had more in common with a movie theater than I had previously thought.</p>
<p>On my first date with Haru, we went to the movies together. Once the popcorn was gone, our hands were on the arms of the chairs, in positions a little too uncomfortable to be natural, but without finishing holding each other's hand. Just what was happening at that moment with Zuko.</p>
<p>I readjusted myself so that the backs of our hands touched and closed my eyes. Since this flight was daytime, it would be difficult to sleep. Even more difficult because of the agitation that my traveling companion produced in me...</p>
<p>Still, I kept my eyes closed and for the second time in a few days, I asked myself the same question.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Why am I here? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My face burned at the memory of the pathetic reason that, flooded with nervousness, was everything I could think of stating as an obstacle to the trip of my dreams. It seemed like he could read my mind.</p>
<p>But the real reason for my hesitation had a name: my marriage to Aang. I was far from my husband and I was not unaware of what could happen during this trip. It was no longer a job offer… this time it was a personal invitation.</p>
<p>At the South Pole we weren't puritans, by no means. What happened before marriage mattered little. What happened after a marriage, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. A married woman visiting the home of a single man, alone… even if the husband knew about it, it would immediately be called "betrayal."</p>
<p>The night before, I called Yue again, to ask her (again) if she had any news from Aang. She had even visited the house to see if there were any notes or letters. Nothing. When I said goodbye to her, I tried not to let the lump in my throat block my voice, but she seemed to sense my dismay.</p>
<p>“I want to tell you something. I know that my parents love me and I also know that they hurt me by imposing on me a marriage that I didn’t want. What I mean is that the two things are not mutually exclusive, that's how we humans are. You are very generous, I already told you. Think of yourself first this time.”</p>
<p>Aang had left first. But I knew that he loved me, and that maybe he would look for me later... Maybe the right thing to do was to wait for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> What if that never happens? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> But he loves me, he only needs a while to sort out some things... </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Or you could stop justifying him </em> , whispered a little voice much like my grandmother's. <em> How are you supposed to know what he thinks if he disappears? If when you speak he just won’t listen? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>And in Yue's voice, the lesson that had taken her so much pain to learn. <em> Sometimes love is not enough to keep a family together. Sometimes it is no longer healthy for you to stay there and you just have to accept it. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I could accept it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I snapped my eyes open and inhaled sharply, my supposed nap already forgotten.</p>
<p>Let Aang contact me whenever he wanted. I would go on with my life without him and we would see. According to my customs, he had abandoned me and I refused to languish and do nothing as if my life and my decisions and my well-being depended on him... not anymore.</p>
<p>In the armchair next to me, Zuko turned to see me with some concern plain in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Is everything alright?” He asked, scrutinizing my face, in which part of my thoughts were surely reflected.</p>
<p>"Everything is fine." I smiled and took his hand. His eyes widened, especially the one without a scar. “How much flight time left?”</p>
<p>"Um... about two hours." He hesitated for a moment, casting a fleeting glance at our joined hands.</p>
<p>"Okay." With a strange inner peace, I closed my eyes again without removing my hand.</p>
<p>I leaned back in the seat, smiling. It was the start of living just for myself. And this was what I wanted to do. It seemed like it took some time for him to trust that I took his hand by decision and not by mistake, and his thumb began to stroke my knuckles with the softness of a sigh.</p>
<p>I pretended to wake up for the complimentary refreshment the airline offered and until then I let go of his hand. We spent the rest of the time in light conversation, and while I lacked the courage to take his hand again, I didn’t lack the desire. Time passed lightly until landing, when we got to our feet and he had to remove his briefcase from the shelves above the seats.</p>
<p>After more paperwork (which left new stamps in my passport), we waited in the band to pick up my pathetically small suitcase (at least, compared to other tourists') and then we got into another car. This driver smiled sincerely as he greeted Zuko and then me.</p>
<p>Once settled in the back seat, I began to move my ankles in small circles. My feet felt heavy.</p>
<p>"That happens when you've been sitting for a long time," Zuko commented when he noticed. My theory that she could read my mind resurfaced. “Don’t look at me like that, I’ve been to a lot of flights longer than this. Wait for the effects of the jet lag. It's good it didn't affect you in Caldera.”</p>
<p>"What's the difference from Chin City?" Suddenly my tiredness made more sense. The time difference between Chin City and Caldera was two hours, and between the house at the South Pole it was barely an hour, due to its proximity to the pole. The stripes were much narrower there.</p>
<p>"Five hours," he yawned. I wasn't the only one tired. “We will eat something and I advise that you try to sleep. Tomorrow, daylight will help you get used to the new timezone.”</p>
<p>"Sounds good." I closed my eyes until she spoke again.</p>
<p>"Um… I also had an additional favor to ask of you." He smiled apologetically and I nodded for him to continue. “I cannot miss the opportunity. I'd like you to tell me your opinion of the house and its decoration. My uncle never stops criticizing the good sense of the decorator.”</p>
<p>"I'll see how bad it is," I agreed, amused. “But I'm not an expert or anything. The one who knows about decoration is my friend Yue.”</p>
<p>We came to a long street lined with high stone fences, and an iron gate opened to allow the car to pass. We continued along a paved path to a bay, not unlike one found at a hotel, directly in front of the door. Zuko helped me out and as he opened the front door, the driver took the car away.</p>
<p>He pushed the door aside and ushered me into a very spacious room, with a parquet floor in intricate geometric designs and a ceiling so high that it could accommodate two floors of regular buildings.</p>
<p>"This is a mansion, not a house." The only thing missing was a chandelier. I turned around to see everything around. There was some living room furniture on a rug, which looked small compared to the floor-to-ceiling picture window through which you could see a huge garden, with trees that seemed very suitable for having a picnic in its shade. Despite the furniture, there was a large free space in front of the wide staircase that led to the second floor.</p>
<p>“So… what do you think?” I heard him next to me, with a drop of nervousness in his voice.</p>
<p>"It's impressive, I can't deny it. But I think…” My eyes wandered lightly over the coordinated colors, the elegant furnishings, the carefully selected decorations. It looked like a party room, empty and impersonal, as if waiting for temporary furniture and occupants for a single afternoon. There were no photographs on the walls, nothing that told me anything about Zuko among the objects present. “I think it lacks warmth. Other furniture, flowers, a dog. Do you even spend time here?”</p>
<p>"Not much." He seemed reluctant to accept it. “There is no fixed office and I move between three or four cities, sometimes more.”</p>
<p>"Do you have houses like this in all of them?" I raised my eyebrows.</p>
<p>"No, I have an apartment in Gaolin, Omashu's hotel suite, and if not, I simply sleep in the office." He put a hand behind his neck.</p>
<p>"What kind of life is that !?” I was horrified. Feeling at home somewhere would be impossible like this; he could afford the most expensive restaurants and buy new clothes every day, but it seemed like an awkward existence anyway. With just a few days gone, I was already beginning to miss home cooking.</p>
<p>"Moving so much keeps me busy. I still haven’t found a good reason to stay somewhere.” He gave me a sad smile. “Let's go to the dining room?”</p>
<p>He didn't give me time to reply. Keep him busy... so he doesn't think about something? Judging from what I knew about him, that "something" would have to do with his family. And with a look at this house, I sensed that he must also feel unbearably lonely. I reached for his arm and followed him through another door on the opposite side of the window.</p>
<p>The dining room, to my great peace of mind, was spacious but had a normal table. I had feared it was one of those tables several meters long where the two people sat each at one end…</p>
<p>A woman about ten years older than me approached us with two bowls of light soup with small pieces of meat. It still seemed very strange to me to have someone do things for me that I would normally do myself, like serve food. Or prepare it.</p>
<p>We finished eating in silence. A void of anticipation settled in my stomach. I couldn't believe that just a few days ago I'd been scared off by the possibility that Zuko would hint at me again, and now I rather wished he would.</p>
<p>I followed him up the stairs, too aware of my steps.</p>
<p>"I hope you're comfortable. If you need anything at all, you can tell me. This is your room.” He opened a cedar door that led into a room exactly like what you would expect in a mansion like this: impersonal and luxurious. In that sense, the yacht room seemed a lot more inhabited than everything in this house.</p>
<p>"But I thought I'd be with y…" I covered my mouth as I realized what I was going to say.</p>
<p><em> That I would be with you, in your room. </em> Or at least that's what I thought he was going to suggest. Was I misreading his intentions? My cheeks burned.</p>
<p>Zuko choked on a cough.</p>
<p>"If... if you wish, of course. You are welcome in any room of the house you choose. Even” his voice faltered for a moment, “even in mine.”</p>
<p>"Thanks." I held on to the door until my knuckles turned white. There was no way I had misheard that, and although it was more like what I had expected, panic prompted me to pretend it hadn't happened. “At... what time should we leave tomorrow?”</p>
<p>My sight was wherever he was not.</p>
<p>"The Jasmine Dragon opens at 9. Around that time is perfect." I glanced at him. His hands were behind his back and his voice was strained. “I don’t bother you anymore, rest well.”</p>
<p>"Good evening," I replied behind him back before closing the door.</p>
<p>I groaned as I rested my forehead on the wooden surface. I almost gave in to the urge to reopen and call him back.</p>
<p>I was frightened by the force of the magnetism that drew me to him. And at the same time, all I wanted was to abandon myself to him and forget everything else. The downside was that "everything else" was quite insistent and hard to ignore.</p>
<p>I no longer had a relationship with Aang, that much I had decided. But the last time I saw him was less than a month before. And I still loved him, those weren't feelings that could vanish entirely from one day to the next.</p>
<p>And just as hard to ignore was the fact that despite all that… I wanted to be with Zuko. For a not so short time.</p>
<p>Would he accept me? Would he want me to stay, or was he only looking for me as something fleeting? And if he wanted me to stay, would he accept me despite the emotional mess that my separation from Aang would mean? The answers were the only thing left unsolved. When I found out those answers, I would surely sleep in another room, either in this house or back in Chin City.</p>
<p>I would ask him. A little calmer with my decision, I was finally able to fall asleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>I practically ran without stopping until I reached my room, the only place in the house where I felt some sort of comfortable. I threw myself hard on the bed and covered my eyes with my hands.</p>
<p>The human curse of perpetual dissatisfaction, of infinite longing. Twenty-four hours earlier, I was the happiest man in the world just because she would be at my house. Now that that had been accomplished, I wanted her to sleep next to me instead.</p>
<p>What was I thinking to tell her that?</p>
<p>Sincerity was the best policy, that was always my uncle's advice. That kind of honesty, though… I wasn't sure Ty Lee would approve of it.</p>
<p>Still, there was at least one day to repair the damage. I wouldn't pressure her, but I hoped it was implied that he would stay the rest of the week. If all went well, then we would arrange a next visit, or she would stay even longer...</p>
<p>I breathed deeply, willing my heart to ease its rhythm. The battle was not over yet, and I was going to overcome this slip up.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Appa's anguished howl reached my seat from the trunk of the bus. I clenched my hands on the armrest of the seat, wanting more than anything in the world to stop the bus, get Appa out of his cage and get him settled down next to me. The conditions imposed by the bus company to transport pets included the payment of an extra half a ticket and that the animal had to travel sedated, in a transport cage inside the trunk. I only agreed because my need to get to Omashu with Appa was greater than my hatred of conditions. The only good thing would be that at least, being sedated, he wouldn't be disturbed by movement, noise, and darkness. He hated the carrier cage and enclosed spaces.</p>
<p>It would have been passable, if not for the flat tire that increased the trip from 12 to 15 hours. Now, in the last two hours of the trip, the effect of the sedative had worn off and Appa was alone in the darkness of the trunk, with nothing familiar around and without me being able to reach him.</p>
<p>Another distressed howl reached my seat and I barely remained there. Other passengers were already beginning to notice the sound. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but it was impossible with Appa's wailing that kept coming.</p>
<p>"Less than two hours, we’re almost there... Appa, I'm so sorry." My hands tightened again and I squeezed my eyes shut.</p>
<p>At least we already had a place to go. I contacted Jet to tell him about my new job, leaving out most of the details about my fight with Katara. He immediately agreed to offer me a couch to sleep in his house until I had money for my own place.</p>
<p>It seemed that an important part of the reason the university had hired me even without doing a formal interview was that a professor was urgently needed for the semester that was about to start. It helped that I was willing to move wherever they needed and had readily accepted the weirdest, earliest and latest, hours.</p>
<p>The lights of the metropolis came to illuminate with a little hope my anguish for Appa. Time passed. Crawling like tar over concrete, but it passed.</p>
<p>As soon as they opened the door of the bus in the last stop, I ran to the trunk where I got Appa and my three luggage boxes. I was good at traveling light and those three boxes were basically everything I owned. The rest of the things would stay in the rented room, which was covered for at least another month, so I could return for my belongings later.</p>
<p>I spent several minutes reassuring Appa. At the South Pole, it was fine for him to follow the car I was riding in, but in the city, it was a terrible idea. Almost as bad as trying to get him into a cab after the stressful bus experience.</p>
<p>All in all, after a while I managed to get him on board and paid for the taxi with part of my precious savings to get to Jet's house along with all my luggage. The taxi driver was patient and gentle and even helped me unload my bags. I tipped him as high as I could afford before ringing the doorbell. Jet’s house was smaller than the one I rented in Chin City, but huge compared to the little room I had inhabited in recent weeks.</p>
<p>"Aang!" Welcome, come in.” Jet opened the door for me and Appa entered cautiously. “Did you have a good trip? Those buses are infamous, I should know.”</p>
<p>"Yeah." All the exhaustion from the trip hit me. “A bit infamous, you are absolutely right. I suffered less last time.”</p>
<p>"You came in much better company then," he laughed and I tried not to sour my gesture too much. My bus-worn nerves made it more difficult. “Is Katara moving in with you later?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know yet. She had to fix some things at work.” My tone sounded forced to my own ears, but Jet didn't give it much thought.</p>
<p>"Oh, it's a shame. A friend of mine was offering some well-paying jobs, I was thinking of suggesting Katara” he helped me carry my boxes inside and the first thing I got out was the plate and a bag of food for Appa. “Something for dinner?”</p>
<p>I gratefully accepted and ate with enthusiasm even though dinner consisted only of some instant noodles. Then Jet led me to the couch where I settled in to sleep. I would have the next day to sort my things and go talk to the executives at the university, and the first class would be on Monday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The change was welcome.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Me, with tears in my eyes, imploring: Stop, stop writing things that were not in the film or in the original plan of the story.</p>
<p>Me too, with a wall of fire behind me: A N O T H E R  S C E N E</p>
<p>Folks, around here I realized that this turned into a monster with a life of its own. All I hope is that you continue to enjoy this story as I enjoy writing it ^_^ Thanks for reading, and thanks to rahidas04 for her editing! :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Despite the fatigue, between the jet lag and my usual sleep schedule, I couldn’t wake up too late. It was still less than 8 in the morning, and I had already been awake for a good 40 minutes without getting out of bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, it was time to get ready. I took a shower in the bathroom lined with luxurious blue mosaics; where I found new soap and shampoo prepared, as well as some soft towels. Upon leaving the shower, I used one of those to wrap around my body and search for dry clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Standing in front of the open suitcase, the lingerie bag I packed in Chin City caught my eye like a neon sign. I had no need to use it. I still had a set of "normal" underwear that I could put on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unless I had other kinds of </span>
  <em>
    <span>activities</span>
  </em>
  <span> in perspective. Activities that required a partner. A partner that, I was sure, Zuko would agree to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I took out the two delicate lace garments. The material was fluid between my fingers, almost like water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Act according to the attraction and whatever it was that I felt, or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In any case, I could use the confidence Suki mentioned," I muttered to myself as I slipped into the amber lace lingerie (pale compared to Zuko's eye color) with black accents. It still had the tag on it and I pulled it off with a swift motion. And I ignored as best I could the imaginary scene in which Zuko did the same with my dress and left the lace exposed, on the bed in his room, which I didn’t know, but imagined similar to the one we had shared that night at the Dragon of the West yacht.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On top of that, I wore a much less risky light blue dress, the last clean one I had. When Zuko said he would buy everything I needed, I thought he was joking. Now that I knew he was serious, I was thinking of asking him to use his washing machine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As for the makeup… I looked at the ones I had available. Breathing heavily, I finally gave in to myself and put on the lipstick I brought from the Dragon of the West.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I opened the door cautiously. The house was very quiet, which would never happen if there were an animal present. I went downstairs to the living room, where I found Zuko flipping through a book. Instead of a shirt and suit, he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt under an unbuttoned shirt, and the air of someone who has been awake for a long time. He looked like a completely different person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put the book aside as soon as he saw me and I greeted him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're early," I pointed out, thinking about what he said the day before about the time zones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can't sleep anymore after the sun comes up," he explained almost as an apology. “Ready to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The car was already waiting outside the door. It seemed that this house wasn’t designed to leave by foot, judging by the distance to the fence and the lack of a non-car door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first Jasmine Dragon of the world was near the center of Ba Sing Se, and although Zuko's house was also in the same area, the grounds were so large that the trip took a while. Fortunately, there were no more awkward silences between us and some of her anecdotes made me double over with laughter (unlike his jokes).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, we descended. The first Jasmine Dragon ever lived up to its fame: the building was old and well cared for, from the painting on the walls to the wooden sign with a dragon and a flower announcing the business. Through the windows, you could see the tables inside, with white tablecloths and a small flower ornament in the center.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko opened the door for me. I was beginning to fear that I would forget how to open doors if he kept doing that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mr. Zuko!" The young waiter seemed delighted to see him. “Come in please. Here's your table.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks, Shoji," Zuko greeted him familiarly, and led us to one of the tables by the window. We sat down and the waiter left us two menus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is always the first place where new products are adopted," Zuko told me, pointing to a section of the menu titled ‘Bubble Tea’. It didn't sound familiar to me. “I tried to stop him from implementing these...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, I'll give it a try." I ordered a fruit mix to go with my plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was because i gave it a try that I said no," Zuko grumbled as the waiter left with our order note.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The service was very fast even by the standards of the Jasmine Dragon of Chin City, or perhaps it was a special treatment for Zuko. My tea arrived and I tasted it. It was good, once you got over the impression of the little chewy pearls that gave it its name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where does your uncle live?” I asked over my glass. “If it's here, it would seem like a good reason to settle in Ba Sing Se. I mean, if the comfort of living on a mansion isn't enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffed in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, he runs everything from his offices in this city." He sipped his perfectly traditional cup of tea. “We are both always busy and it is difficult to see each other very often. Also, Ty Lee works most of the time in Caldera and in Gaolin I can visit another friend, Toph. She was at Omashu's party, I don't know if you met her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not quite sure," I tried to remember, but didn't talk with a lot of people that night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's blind and is always accompanied by a guide dog, his name is Badgermole." My gesture soured immediately. The girl with the sarcastic comments from the casino. “Yeah, I think you met her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed and I glared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I understand, she's not someone who's very easy to get along with at first." He shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I wasn't sure I could get along with her at all, but I had met her on a night when I was under a lot of pressure. It could be an error in judgment on my part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I also have a couple of friends from college who work at Kyoshi. I visit them less often than I would like.” He interrupted my gloomy musings and I pushed the night we had lost everything at the casino from my mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My brother and sister-in-law live there, but let me guess. In Kyoshi City you have a horrible beach house that you don't like to be in either.” I rolled my eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"When I visit, I actually sleep in the Dragon of the West." He smiled with a sparkle in his eyes that rose color to my cheeks. The memory of the night I spent there was much more pleasant than that of Omashu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah," I answered creatively and took a sip of my drink. I almost choked on one of the tapioca pearls and got a couple of pats on the back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll tell my uncle to remove those things from the menu," he complained, and he didn't remove his hand from my back even when I stopped coughing. “They are dangerous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, it's a good drink, I just got distracted," I said sheepishly, my voice a little raspy. Zuko offered me a sip of her tea and I hesitated a second before accepting it. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The waiter rushed over, carrying a glass of water. He was reassured to see that everything was fine and it did not take too long to arrive with our dishes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The presentation of my roast duck sandwich was different from Chin City. The bread was different too, sprinkled with sesame and seeds, and decorated with a small purple flower on top. Without waiting any longer, I picked up one of the halves and took a bite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And another and another. I hadn't noticed how hungry I was and it was delicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t like it?” Zuko commented with a smile as he attacked his own breakfast with the fork.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's even better than the one in Chin City!" I said as soon as I finished my bite. “I could move here and eat sandwiches like this one every day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you want to." There was a particular gleam in his gaze and my eyes widened as I understood what I said and what he replied. But he kept talking. “That roast duck recipe was developed by my uncle, it is also one of his favorite dishes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Between bites, he told me a little more about the recipes and the story of the Jasmine Dragon, which saved me from getting involved a lot. I finished the last rim of bread with the pleasant satisfaction that only an excellent meal left behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We are very close to downtown. If that's okay with you, we can go today to see the Palace and tour the surrounding buildings.” Zuko held his cup with both hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That reminded me of the rest of the plans for the day and I pushed aside my braid that kept falling on my plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the University?” I couldn't help asking hopefully. It was the other destination that excited me the most within Ba Sing Se.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's closed today, because it's Sunday," he apologized, and a slight discouragement overshadowed my joy for an instant. “I thought we could go tomorrow, if you want. This whole week is still student vacation and there won't be too many people.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd love to," I smiled from ear to ear. If I could find the Faculty where they taught International Relations, I would take a brochure to get a more precise idea of the procedures and prices. I didn't have much hope, after all it was the most prestigious university in the world and there were many filters to enter, not only the economic one... but I could dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko raised a hand and the waiter walked over to set down the check. Before he could tell me anything, I advanced a small pile of coins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's the tip," I explained, crossing my arms. “Since you won't let me cooperate, I'll at least leave that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment he seemed about to rebut it, but he ended up smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, then." He put another bill on the table. The waiter, who was serving some newly arrived customers, approached.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you very much, Mr. Zuko," he said goodbye. “Enjoy your visit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"See you later." Zuko waved a hand and we left the tea shop to begin walking up the street. “It's close, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't mind walking." I grabbed onto his arm almost automatically. I was comfortable like this and he wasn't protesting. “As long as you know where we are going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I haven't gotten you lost yet, have I?" He pretended to be offended as we waited for the light to change at the traffic light to cross to the next street. “These blocks I know well. It is the area that I moved in the most when I lived here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You could see the care that the city took in that sector: the wide sidewalks shaded with trees made the walk a walk, and the roofs around it sparkled in the sunlight with their golden tiles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This palace does have a royal family inside it," he told me when, two blocks later, the huge wall that separated the palace from the rest of the city appeared. “One part is inhabited by them, another is a kind of museum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They do like walls in this city." I bend my neck to catch a glimpse of the top of the high walls, also crowned with golden tiles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They're a local specialty," he told me as we lined up at the box office (a series of windows adjacent to the wall) to buy tickets. It seemed that the shortcuts he could get were also limited. But the truth was that it made me feel more comfortable. Unlike what Col had said (my feelings about the man were still ambiguous) about Zuko getting everything he wanted, this made him seem… more like me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, the line advanced quickly and once with our tickets in hand, we formed again in a section delimited with velvet cords. When some people gathered, a smiling girl dressed in green approached us, holding a small sign with a number 4 in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Welcome, dear visitors! My name is Joo Dee and I will be your guide today during your visit to the Ba Sing Se Royal Palace.” Her enthusiasm stifled me a bit. “We are group 4, try not to get separated, in most areas of the palace it is strictly forbidden for visitors to walk alone!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, not disturbing at all. I tightened my grip on Zuko's arm a little more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Follow me please!” The guide addressed our small group with a huge smile and started walking. We followed her through the gates of the wall and she began her explanation in a cheerful voice. “The royal palace sits on top of the oldest part of Ba Sing Se, on a series of crystal catacombs that were once the reason the city settled here…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inside the walls, it seemed to be another world. A profusion of planters and fountains dotted the perfectly flat cobblestones so polished it reflected sunlight. We stopped to admire the sculptures of badgermoles (the animals, not Zuko's friend's guide dog) that were the emblem of the royal family, a tree apparently planted by the first king when construction began on the palace and one of the sources.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I retained barely a third of everything the guide said, she spoke giving too much data, too fast. She continued her explanations and we entered the building, as splendid as only a palace could be. It made even Zuko's mansion look like a broom closet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We arrived at a gallery of portraits of the more than 40 kings who had ruled from that palace and everything was so full of dates and names that I better blocked Joo Dee's voice, although I continued to observe her. She had the porcelain skin and straight, ink-black hair that were so favored on television and in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation magazines.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko was looking at her too, which wasn't strange in itself. She was the tour guide and was giving an explanation. In addition, he would turn to see me from time to time, as if to imply that he was aware of me more than the tour. So it wasn't jealousy… and yet a feeling of anguish settled for an instant in my stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was he making all this effort with me?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” He leaned toward me. Apparently I stared at him for too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I’m fine," I replied a little late. “All that data is making me a bit dizzy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Me too, I'm afraid." The breath from his whisper sent a chill down my spine. “Sorry, it's the only way to visit the palace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s no problem. The place is beautiful.” His apologetic gesture was enough to push the unpleasant thoughts out of my mind. We followed the guide through two other rooms of historical artifacts and sculptures dating back to the founding of the city, but eventually emerged into one of the palace's many internal courtyards, one of the few open to the public. And the not so fun part of the tour was well worth the tranquility that was breathed in that garden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is where the guided tour ends. You may stay in the garden as long as you wish and then tour the adjacent museum at your leisure.” Joo Dee smiled at us again. “The Earth Kingdom thanks you for your visit and wishes you a pleasant stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At last she and her number 4 sign were gone and I couldn't help a sigh of relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Can we sit down for a moment?" I asked Zuko when I saw a nearby unoccupied bench. “Oof. That was exhausting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"On the bright side, we're free now," he answered with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, it was a good side. When I felt ready, we continued to the museum, which without the suffocating explanations of the guide was much more enjoyable, and finally arrived at the museum store, where I rejected Zuko's bumbling offer to buy me a reproduction of one of the jewels displayed in the room above, a pair of jade earrings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Normally, it’s the gentleman who refuses to buy the jewel, not the other way around." The clerk at the counter looked at us with amusement. The blush for that lasted at least until we were back outside the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko guided me through the streets to the different squares in the center, all of them with impeccable landscaping. We went into several other souvenir shops and I bought some little things for my family. At one of the stores, where I found a  fan-shaped keychain, perfect for Suki, and Zuko bought something too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, you just can't do without one of these," and he spread out one of the iconic I-heart-Ba Sing Se T-shirts that were not missing in a single store.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It was past lunchtime when tiredness began to appear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you want to go back to rest a little?" he asked, solicitous. I nodded with a yawn. It was still an effect from the jet lag. We took a taxi back to his mansion and I discovered that it was indeed possible to enter on foot, through a small door hidden among some vineyards on one side of the car gate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd like to use your washing machine, if it's not a hassle," I made an effort to stay awake. If I didn't wash my clothes that afternoon, I'd be out of clean ones for the next day. Even though I had the new shirt and my pants… maybe I could wait one more day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We can go shopping tomorrow." The lopsided smile betrayed the mockery and I gave him a light push.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think it's okay to do the laundry." I stifled a yawn as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Put everything you need to wash in the basket next to the bed in the room and leave it in the hall," he let me pass. “Get some sleep, you look exhausted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I briefly thought about resisting and trying to do the laundry myself, but he was right, I was exhausted and it might not kill me to accept help from his employees for once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks." I went up the stairs to my room and he stayed downstairs. After throwing carelessly almost all the contents from my suitcase into the basket and leaving it outside my door, I took off my shoes and lay on the bed, closing my eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I woke up from my nap without even noticing when I had fallen asleep. Judging by the window, it was already dusk. It wasn't too late yet, maybe I could try to fall asleep again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I sighed and settled back, but my eyes fell on the bag that contained the shirt Zuko had just gifted me... The thoughts that had arisen when I noticed Joo Dee returned, and adhered to my mind to make way for everything I was trying to ignore. Everything, every doubt that circled in my head like a caged lion-elk and began to eat away at my tranquility and decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either I was a fleeting conquest, only interesting because of my “exotic” brown skin and blue eyes, or he was genuinely interested in me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An icy cold came over me at the thought. Being with him and then being discarded… I didn't want to expose myself to that, no matter how much attraction I felt towards Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… I bit my lip. But. If his interest in me was sincere, if he was willing to try something else, despite everything, how we had met and what had already happened between us... I already knew what I wanted: to be with him, way more seriously than a game, although I had no idea what might happen. Instead, to know what he wanted, I needed to ask him. And that’s what I would do. I couldn't bear any more of those doubts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I left the room to a very quiet house, like that same morning. Unlike in the morning, Zuko was not in the living room reading. I went into the dining room, which was also empty. I stopped before leaving when I heard movement in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...fold the lady's clean clothes," I heard a female voice, followed by a pause. “I don't know if it's just me, but I'm happy to have work to do, I feel like I'm finally earning my salary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's always work to do," pointed out the other voice, also female but a little older.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sure, sweep and clean rooms that no one ever stands in," the first person complained. “I'm glad they're here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the kitchen was open and I looked out, not going inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hi…" I greeted, a little unsure. The speakers were a young girl I hadn't seen before, sitting in a chair, and the woman who served dinner the night before, who was arranging plates in the cupboard. They both greeted me with a slight bow that was strange to me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss!” The girl had risen to her feet. “We already have your clothes clean, we haven't folded them yet. We were going to put it away when you came down for dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ended with an apologetic tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for the help," I smiled at her. “But there is no rush, rather I came to ask if you knew where is Z…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I stopped myself not knowing how to refer to Zuko with the people who worked at her house. Fortunately, the girl saved me the work.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“The sir?” She replied cheerfully. “It think that he is in the study. I can show you where it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, please," I sighed gratefully, and followed her back into the living room and up the stairs to one of the doors. Seeing that he had been so close to my room the whole time, I wanted to slap myself on the forehead. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?” She was surprised and looked at me. “My name is Min, miss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I am Katara. Thanks, Min,” I told her, and she said goodbye before running downstairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I took a deep breath and knocked on the door twice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come in," Zuko's voice came from within. Sitting at the desk, he smiled when he saw me. “I was thinking of waking you up soon, are you hungry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not too much," I admitted. Breakfast had been a bit heavy for my stomach. The idea of eating at the Jasmine Dragon every day had become a little less appealing. But only a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then I'll just order some fruit." He went to an intercom like the one we had in Mr. Tong's office and gave a couple of instructions. Meanwhile, I sat in one of the chairs and caressed the charm on my necklace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Min soon arrived carrying a tray of fruit salad. Sitting in two adjacent armchairs, we ate in silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is everything in order?” He asked, scrutinizing my face again. Was my humor really that transparent to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes... I want to talk to you." There was no point in thinking about it, although for a moment, jumping into a pool of frozen water seemed a more appealing prospect than enduring the uncertainty of this conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm listening." He leaned toward me, resting his arms on his knees, and pushed his empty plate away. Fortunately there hadn’t been any papaya among the fruits… I struggled to concentrate under his watchful eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took me a while to speak, but he waited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” I whispered, looking into his eyes. He looked at me without understanding what I meant. “Why are you doing all this? All this effort?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I gestured around the study, the huge mansion, even the city in its entirety. To myself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You didn't know me. You only saw me once.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked at me puzzled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But I got to know you later. Why wouldn’t I make an effort?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I was about to grunt in frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why do you keep doing it? Sure you can choose any woman, an actress or a model or something like that. Then why?” I pressed again, without taking my gaze from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A silent minute passed and he finished by taking a deep breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know," he continued speaking before I could protest. “I don't know, I wanted to meet you. As soon as I saw you in that store, something called me. Very few times I have had things clear, so when I felt that I wanted, that I needed to meet you, I did everything in my power to make it happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I pondered his words for a moment. Although he answered one thing, he did not speak of what he wanted in the future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it just that? Because of my appearance?” My worst fear wormed its way into my voice without my being able to help it. “Do you want me to sleep with you again but without paying a million yuan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He froze for a moment, then he jerked back so hard his head slammed against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” he screamed. “Yes. No. Yes, but… ugh, wait. How can I say this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stood up and walked in small circles, pressing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. I got up too, my stomach knotting with nerves and anticipation. I needed to know. And I was about to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I want..." he seemed to struggle with the words. "...I want to keep you in my life, in whatever form you want to stay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I forgot how to breathe. That was a much sweeter response than I expected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know it's only been a few days, but it's enough to confirm my first impression. You're a woman like I've never known.” There was color in his cheeks and he ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair before continuing to speak. “I guess you know I'm interested in you, in being a… couple. I don't know how it’s... what the status of your marriage is. I don't want to force you into anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm interested in you too," I blurted out, unable to contain myself. My hands burned to reach out and touch him. I took a step forward and stopped holding back what I was thinking. “But... I'm not sure it's possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I looked away, despite how difficult it was to separate my gaze from his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We didn't start well, we can't go on. If we continue, it will end badly…” I gave voice to the concerns that still held me back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know?” He covered the last step between us, close enough for me to feel again the warm aura of that night on the yacht. Like that night, all his indecision was swept in an instant. “How do you know it will end badly? I've never started like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Me neither." I found it difficult to spin thoughts under his insistent scrutiny. “But…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, he raised a hand and caressed my cheek. Any other objection melted under the warmth of that touch, and the one that conveyed his gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We don't have to rush. I understand that it is too soon... I can wait as long as you need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He withdrew his hand and I immediately missed his touch. Something that came from very deep was showing in his eyes. If he could see into me the way he’d shown before, I knew what he would find. At least up to a certain degree. There would be desire, yes. But also something else, several more things, that I had discovered during these days of living with him. I wanted to wake up in his arms, joke around in the mornings, spend evenings snuggled next to him, and take him to the snowy landscapes of my childhood. Walking on his arm, both dressed in the voluminous coats that the weather demanded. I didn't want to name those feelings yet, but I knew it all was there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The top of my head barely reached his chin. I kept my face up and leaned into him, leaving just enough room for a sheet of paper to pass between us. The slightest movement would have me in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I breathed carefully, afraid to break the moment. One last rope was holding me back: maybe it was too early, unfair to him while I still hadn't spoken to Aang again about my decision. But it was impossible to locate him, it could take forever to see him again, and I, in my selfishness, knew that I did not want to wait that long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko's eyes were a vast golden abyss and I was about to fall; once inside, there was the possibility that everything I had imagined with him were only illusions. But that's how relationships always began: with a leap of faith. There was no way I’d pass up this one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gently, I kissed his lips, barely a touch. He froze, breathing heavily. I threw caution into the air and hugged him, finally allowing myself to enjoy the sensation without limitation. Like the time in Caldera, he was surprised and as soon as he got over it, he tightened his arms around me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take your word. I want to sleep in your room,” I sighed in his ear, finally at ease with my decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” He asked in a gentle voice, without loosening his embrace one iota.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes," sure as I have rarely been in my life. I laughed. “And don't go cheating, you have to be there too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed too and rested his cheek on my temple. His breath rocked my spine with a tremor of excitement that flooded my mind with the image of the lingerie and the bed. But to my great irritation, he made no other move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Suddenly I feel very tired." I pressed my body against him, in a way that could no longer be interpreted as platonic. “And you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"E... exhausted," he swallowed. Reluctantly, I pulled away from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let's go.” I didn’t allow him to distance himself again and took his hand. With joined hands, we got to his room; my imagination had been correct, it was very similar to the room inside the Dragon of the West, although without flowers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I felt my heart beating in my throat and I released his hand to sit on the bed. I pushed my shoes aside, put my feet up, and hugged my knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't understand how you sleep in an office if you have such a bed available," I smiled. His gaze darkened with desire and the spark fueled the fire in my belly. Only him to consume me like that without even having touched me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, he sat down next to me without looking my way. I leaned against his shoulder and put a hand on his chin; gently, I turned his face until he was looking at me, with a gaze full of meaning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you're here, I wouldn't think about sleeping in the office again," he confessed, and my pulse raced even more. I couldn't wait anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have noticed, because he kissed me, a light and soft touch. He seemed to be waiting for my confirmation, but underneath I could feel the tension of how much he was holding back. In response, I put a hand behind his neck and pulled him towards me. He wrapped his arms around me again and I melted, dragging him until we were both lying down in the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His tongue passed over my lips and I granted access, kissing and exploring with the sweet calm of a candle fire; the slow burning did not mean that it had any less strength.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, there was no rush. There were many more nights ahead.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've seen images from the comics where Iroh serves bubble tea, and while I still regard the content of the comics as apocryphal, that detail I found amusing. I read on Wikipedia that the drink was in fact invented in Taiwan in the late 80's and began to spread around the world around that time... so yay for the historical accuracy xD </p><p>Also, we receive Min, my first OC for this universe and I have no idea why she even has a name. It must be something like the embodiment of self-will in this story. Maybe she’ll be more important later, who knows? Because definitely not me.</p><p>In other news: Chapter 15 officially marks 50,000 words for this fanfic and I couldn't be happier with the response it got :’D thank you so much everyone who comments! They keep my enthusiasm alive to continue writing :3 I also thank those who read more silently and those who have followed / bookmarked the story, I hope you continue to enjoy reading!<br/>A special thanks to rahidas04, who is helping me bring the story into English (my soul fills with joy when I see her modifications, the chapters read so much better... ).</p><p>Oh, and a final note! This fanfic most definitely ends with Zutara!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. City of walls and dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunlight shone across my eyelids, and the placid warmth of the bed kept my eyes closed. The sun bathed the arm that I left out of the covers and I turned around. My hands wandered over the other side of the bed, and I found it empty.</p>
<p>I yawned as I sat up and couldn't hold back a smile along with my blush. I had actually slept in Zuko's room. We had done more than sleep, so rather, I had spent the night in Zuko's room.</p>
<p>This was… new territory. Not exactly new, but it had been a long time since I had started a romantic relationship. I shouldn't have been so excited, but I couldn't help my enthusiasm. And even less so when there was such abundance of reciprocity.</p>
<p>The morning sunlight came in through a balcony window overlooking the garden, just like the one I had slept on when I first arrived. The night before I hadn't noticed and now I wanted to look out, although I missed clothes other than the ones on the floor. I would have to get up without any garment, or not get up at all. I decided on the second option. I was about to lie back down when I heard footsteps outside the room.</p>
<p>For the moment, the sheet would have to do. I pulled it up to cover my breasts before answering that he could come in. Zuko appeared in the door, dressed in a red robe with billowing patterns that looked like wisps of smoke.</p>
<p>"Good morning." The gold in his eyes looked even warmer than usual and I blushed more from the tenderness in his gaze than from the underwear thrown on the floor. He held a cup in each hand and held them up, to show them. “I didn't ask you if you liked jasmine tea, I hope you like at least this one… it's a special blend from my uncle and I prepared it myself. I'd like you to try it.”</p>
<p>Careful to hold the sheet close to my body with my arms, I received the steaming cup from his hands. He sat on the bed and I inhaled the aroma of the tea, dispersed all around me in a fragrant cloud. A knot formed in my throat.</p>
<p>"Thank you." The first swallow spreaded a wave of heat from my chest to my fingertips, but did little to undo the knot. On the contrary, it tightened it.</p>
<p>Since the last time I had woken up and there was already a hot drink ready for me… it had been more than 15 or 16 years. Before Mom got so sick that I had to take care of her, as well as preparing breakfast for the rest of the family. And since then, I was the one in charge.</p>
<p>The first tear fell on the tea.</p>
<p>“What’s happening? Are you okay?” Zuko rushed to my side and set the mug on the nightstand. Then he came closer to me, searching my gaze as I tried to wipe away the tears that kept coming out.</p>
<p>I felt his arm go around me and I pressed my face to his chest, over the soft fabric of the robe that I began to soak up with tears. His other arm wrapped around me as well and his chin rested on my head, stroking my hair with gentle movements.</p>
<p>The sobs eventually subsided in no time, but I didn't let go of him and he didn't make any move to separate from me either.</p>
<p>“What happened?” He asked close to my ear.</p>
<p>"N... nothing. Sorry. It was nothing.” I tried to pull away.</p>
<p>“Nothing?” His voice was filled with concern. Was it okay to tell him? Wouldn't he begin to regret inviting me? “Are you sure? Wasn't it something I did?”</p>
<p>“No! No…” I finally pulled away enough to see him and gave him a slightly shaky smile. “It's just that... it's silly, actually. It's the first time in a long time that someone has made me tea.”</p>
<p>"Oh…" He didn't answer anything more and I hugged him again. I hadn't realized how much I had missed someone else's closeness. And how much I liked his closeness in particular.</p>
<p>"When I see my uncle, I'll tell him his tea is so good that you cried," he tried to joke, whispering in my ear. Despite myself, I laughed and pulled away from him to wipe my tears. “Do you like tea?”</p>
<p>“Yup. I've tasted the entire Jasmine Dragon menu.” I reached over to pick up my cup again and take a sip. The taste was as delicate as the aroma and I sighed.</p>
<p>"Wow, I was starting to doubt it after you ordered that abomination of bubble tea yesterday," he teased before reaching for his own cup again.</p>
<p>"Hmpf." I lifted my nose. “Your good taste obviously doesn't extend to tea.”</p>
<p>"I can live with that." He placed a kiss on my neck, which tickled me and I had to force myself not to drop the cup.</p>
<p>He put an arm around my waist and I relaxed against his side to finish drinking my tea. I felt his sigh when I rested my head on his shoulder.</p>
<p>"Speaking of questionable tastes, you love red, don’t you?" I put the cup on the nightstand and pointed to the robe he was wearing. All around the room, red flooded my sight, in the carpet and the bedspread and over several pieces of the furniture. “They say it is not a good color for a bedroom.”</p>
<p>He shrugged.</p>
<p>"That's how the decorator left it, but if you say it because of the clothes, I have a green one too." He walked to the closet and took out another robe, the same as the one he had in everything except the color. “I don't know if you want to wear one…”</p>
<p>I smiled.</p>
<p>"How could I refuse such a generous offer?" I dropped the sheet and could see his gaze drop for a flattering instant to my bare chest. “Thank you, your majesty.”</p>
<p>"Sure." He blushed and looked away. “We can go to the University as soon as you want, it should already be open.”</p>
<p>I jumped to my feet, the remnants of sleepiness blown away.</p>
<p>“I'll go get dressed.”</p>
<p>I ran to what had been my room until the day before and found all the clothes I had left to wash on the bed, clean and neatly folded. Instead of choosing one of the dresses, I took out the suitcase and the other set of lingerie, the blue one that I had worn before. Then I put on my pants and the shirt that Zuko had given me the day before.</p>
<p>The smile I found on his face when he saw me dressed like that convinced me that it had been a good decision.</p>
<p>Ba Sing Se University was located in the opposite direction from the palace, in what they called the Middle Ring. So even though it had an impressive wall around it, the tiles weren't golden, like in the royal palace. The very stone of the walls was what made up the buildings that appeared in every direction he looked.</p>
<p>"The most famous places are the library and the main auditorium steps," Zuko explained to me as we toured the campus. It was a small town unto itself, with streets and sidewalks and a constant stream of buses transporting people from one faculty to another. “Would you rather walk or take one of the buses?”</p>
<p>"Walking is fine" at least until I got tired. I looked all around with wide eyes, there was a lot of movement even though there seemed to be few students. Walking on those roads, it was easy to imagine that I was already one of the students taking classes inside the bone-colored stone buildings.</p>
<p>"In the corner to the right," Zuko, who hadn't let go of my hand since we started our walk, led me. “I thought you’d like to stop here.”</p>
<p>A tall building appeared before us, stretching out on both sides, among trees laden with orange flowers and bearing a bronze sign that proudly announced it as the Faculty of Political Sciences. I squeaked.</p>
<p>“Let's go!” I started running with his hand still in mine and we reached the door breathlessly.</p>
<p>Inside, it looked a bit dingy, similar to the office I worked in but with finer furniture. Although the windows were much larger… the warm weather allowed it.</p>
<p>“Can I help you with anything?” A woman in an elegant ruffled blouse approached us from behind the counter.</p>
<p>"I want some information about the career of International Relations." My smile was broader than one of mere courtesy.</p>
<p>“New admission or career change?” She asked gently.</p>
<p>"New admission, it's the first time I've been here." I felt a little nervous for some reason.</p>
<p>"In that case, with your postal information I can offer you a free academic counseling session." With a smile, she searched behind the counter for a notebook that she opened to a page with columns for data.</p>
<p>“Thank you!” I hurriedly filled the fields, hesitating for just a moment before writing down the direction of the South Pole instead of Chin City.</p>
<p>"Come this way." She opened the door to a small office next to the counter. I gestured for Zuko to follow me, but the advisor intervened. “The session is personal.”</p>
<p>I looked at Zuko apologetically.</p>
<p>"I’ll wait for you here." He smiled and let go of my hand. Before following the counselor, I saw Zuko settle into one of the armchairs in the waiting room. Afterwards, I focused entirely on the information about a dream that had already been postponed for so many years.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>I dropped into the couch with a huge smile and a joy that shone like a sun inside my chest. And to think that a couple of weeks before, during my visit to Gaolin, I had complained inconsolably to Toph...</p>
<p>The euphoria I felt could propel me to run all day through college and even then, I wouldn't feel tired... Not while I remembered her in my arms, the dream came true of sleeping next to her again, without the mediation of any crude contract.</p>
<p>Unlike that time on the yacht, I hadn't had to wake her today, and I stayed to stare at her in the dawn light. But the overwhelming happiness I felt seeing the slight smile on her sleeping face was exactly the same. I still wasn't sure this was really happening.</p>
<p>She seemed to want to stay.</p>
<p>My joy lessened a bit as I thought about what was next. The whole situation rested on a very delicate balance that would make her flee if I took a wrong step. Her crying that morning had alarmed me quite a bit.</p>
<p>My plan for the rest of the week in my role as guide and keeping everything in line with what she started. Ty Lee said that my instincts for showing affection were pretty good… Anyway, I would still think about how to approach plans for the future when that time came. There were many aspects to contemplate.</p>
<p>The wait seemed short to me and I saw her leave the office with beaming eyes and her hands full of brochures, which she immediately put in her bag before saying goodbye to the counselor.</p>
<p>“And? What did you think?” I stood up immediately and she took my hand without hesitation. I widened my smile a little more.</p>
<p>“It’s incredible. I have a lot to think about before deciding, but I’m so excited!” The sparkle in her eyes competed with the sheen of joy in her smile. I kept quiet about my offer of help. She was still processing the possibilities, I would wait for my chance.</p>
<p>We left the building and I followed her cheerful stride, this time in the direction of the central area of campus.</p>
<p>"I studied there," I pointed to another of the buildings. “There’s a fountain that can be seen from the halls.”</p>
<p>"Show me." Not only were our hands intertwined, but our arms were touching up to the shoulders as well.</p>
<p>We heard the fountain before we saw it. It stood a few feet in the center of the esplanade formed by the three classroom buildings, and there were several small groups of students around it. A couple of them were tossing coins, muttering something about extraordinary exams, which brought me back to memories I thought were buried.</p>
<p>"This fountain has a reputation of granting wishes," I explained that little almost forgotten snippet from my college years.</p>
<p>“Really?” Katara jumped up and reached into her pocket for a couple of coins. “Is there any special instruction or do I just have to throw it?”</p>
<p>"The legend says that the wish is fulfilled faster if you hit the second level." I pointed to the stone container where the water fell before reaching the cylinder that formed the base of the fountain.</p>
<p>"Very well, I'm ready." We took a place among the other people. With the first coin in her hand, she contemplated for a moment how she should toss, which she did a few moments later. And the coin hit the stone column and instead of landing on the second level, it fell back into the water, very close to us.</p>
<p>"It was warm-up." She blushed and took another coin. It took her four more tries to land te coin where she wanted. And when the coin fell into the container of water on the second level, she gave a cry of joy and wrapped me in a hug and then kissed me.</p>
<p>I stumbled in surprise and almost dragged her to the fountain. She took it upon herself to keep me out of the water and started laughing. We got a couple of glances from the other students, but I couldn't think of anything but the way she was hugging me.</p>
<p>"Come on, aren't you going to make your wish?" She held out a hand with a coin, which I accepted with a smile, unable to resist her request.</p>
<p>"Y-yeah, sure," I stuttered a bit and closed my eyes for a moment, contemplating my wish. This coin, which she had given me and which I would toss in her presence, seemed much more charged with meaning than the several I tossed when I was a student.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Agni, I want to help her realize her wish. I hope she finds happiness by my side... </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I tossed the coin and was overwhelmed with exhilaration when the coin landed on the second level, just like hers. I turned to look at her and found her smiling.</p>
<p>"Show off." He placed a kiss on my cheek.</p>
<p>I was much more talkative for the rest of the tour in college. For the return, we took one of the buses and met the driver at the place I asked him to wait for us. I had calculated the time well.</p>
<p>She asked me for a complete tour of the house; in the middle of it all, I hadn't noticed that the chance to show her the rest of the rooms hadn’t arrived yet. She was excited to see that there was a pool, but since I hardly ever used it, it was empty. Sneaking behind her back, I asked the house employees to have it ready for the next day.</p>
<p>When night fell, after she allowed me to appreciate the contrast of her skin with my sheets, it took me a while to fall asleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The days passed in a continuous, blissful plenitude. It was like leaving the rest of the world out, and it was just the two of us. I carefully kept away all thoughts that might bring some discomfort in a dream from which I did not want to wake up.</p>
<p>He took me to see the walls and we toured the zoo on the outskirts, we walked together through the center (it took us more than a whole day to travel the route suggested by the tourist map of the city) and I spent a lot of hours enjoying the garden.</p>
<p>By Friday afternoon, I had asked him to join me for a picnic there, below the tree that I had seen from day one. We both went into the kitchen to get food, and from somewhere he pulled out a picnic basket. It differed from normal baskets in the many compartments for plates and cutlery and glasses, he explained.</p>
<p>"Is this all included when you buy a mansion, or are they bought separately?" I asked him, and he laughed.</p>
<p>"Like almost anything worthwhile, it came as a gift. From my uncle.”</p>
<p>I sat watching the sunset above the treetops. The clouds were dyed red and light purple. I sighed and leaned against his shoulder. All the time, he listened and looked at me intently, as if I was a priority. It was such a nice feeling, it took off a burden I had been carrying alone for so long and somehow made the universe fit all around.</p>
<p>I turned to see him, and he wasn't looking at the sunset, but at me.</p>
<p>But an instant later, a cold wave washed over the illusion. I couldn't keep escaping the passage of time: it was already Friday night, and my free week was coming to an end. And that destroyed the dam that I had so carefully built around the <em> othe </em>r thoughts... Because thinking about what would happen beyond Saturday night meant rethinking what I would do about my job, my family, and Aang, among many other things.</p>
<p>He still hadn't said anything about his own plans, I would be content with knowing what he wanted to do in the following months. And there was only Saturday to talk about it, since I would have to be back in Chin City by Sunday. The dream was ending, and waking up was way more bitter than I had anticipated.</p>
<p>Maybe it was better to leave before getting disappointed, before everyday life killed the illusion as in many ways it had happened with Aang.</p>
<p>But oh, how hard I wanted to stay forever.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Something was bothering her, I was sure, and that feeling became more pronounced as we collected the remains of the picnic.</p>
<p>The next day was rapidly approaching, a threatening shadow in this little bubble of happiness. There was a question I needed to ask the next day and I was <em> terrified </em> of the possible answers.</p>
<p>I could offer her a new visit to Ba Sing Se in the future... or go straight to the offer of living here with me. Permanently.</p>
<p>In fact, I had already thought in more detail than I’d want to accept what I planned to say to her in either scenario. I didn't want to ask the wrong question. I was confident that the next day I’d be able to find a good opportunity and bring up the subject without being awkward. Too much, at least.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ah, happiness is so boring. My soul needs more drrramaaAA… but we are on a small narrative plateau. Put up with me for a couple more weeks, please. Despite everything I say, some of these scenes had been waiting to write them from the very beginning xD I think it is unnecessary to talk about accidental chapters, hehe.</p>
<p>And it’s almost New Year’s eve! I’ve been perusing through my notebooks and I found some notes from when I was still planning this story. For a while, I entertained the idea of interchanged roles: Katara was the millionaire and Zuko and Mai were the couple estranged from their families, and were on the verge of losing their home. Mai suggested they tried betting on ostrich-horses races as her father used to do, and you can imagine the rest. Curiously enough, Jet was the attorney friend in both versions. But because parallels were harder to draw, I finally settled for this “classical” version…</p>
<p>Special thanks to rahidas04 for revising this work, and to Ruby Hearfillia who will also be betaing!</p>
<p>Anyways, I wish you all the best for 2021!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. More than words</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Saturday afternoon wore on, my mood darkened inch by inch. Much of it was due to the stress of not knowing what would happen the next day... and just a little bit was anger directed at him.</p>
<p>It was the third time I tried to read the titles of the books on the shelf. I finally gave up the futile attempt at distraction and slumped into the chair next to him, several feet apart. I crossed my arms.</p>
<p>"I have to go back to work on Monday." I finally put on the table the words that we had both ignored for almost a week.</p>
<p>He looked up with a hint of panic in his eyes and that gave me hope. But when he put the book aside in his hands and looked back at me, he seemed very calm, almost indifferent.</p>
<p>"I can get the plane ticket for tomorrow," he answered me in a calm voice and the tension tightened my throat. “To be on time, an early flight would be best.”</p>
<p>"As you say, you know more than I do." I had a hard time answering him. Was that <em> all </em> he was going to tell me?</p>
<p>"I'd like you to come back soon," he suggested with what seemed like hope.</p>
<p>I pursed my lips, annoyed. With him, with myself, with the universe.</p>
<p>"When I figure out my options about the university, I'll let you know." Consciously, I knew I shouldn't be mad at him for not wanting the same thing as me. But I couldn't help it. “It’s not so easy, there’s not enough time for a trip here on a weekend.”</p>
<p>And at the end of the year, on vacation I would visit the South Pole… I was willing to shorten my stay there in order to visit him here, but just at that moment I didn’t feel the disposition to tell him.</p>
<p>"Any time you can will be fine." His shoulders slumped and I almost felt bad.</p>
<p>I nodded without another word and lingered there, still for a long instant.</p>
<p>
  <em> Ask me to stay, please. I couldn't ask it myself... </em>
</p>
<p>My silent plea was met by more silence. I gave up and turned to head for the door. It was time to pack up to return to Chin City… an excruciatingly bland and stale life now that I had remembered what it was like to feel alive and with a purpose that belonged entirely to myself.</p>
<p>And I was scared. If I left, and he didn’t seek me after that... all my precautions would have been in vain.</p>
<p>The door was already in front of me when his voice reached me.</p>
<p>"Or you could move here. With me.” Hearing that, I spun around so fast I almost felt dizzy.</p>
<p>I looked at him with wide eyes. There was a feverish tinge on his cheeks.</p>
<p>“If you want to, of course. So far I don't have a permanent office,” he continued speaking, very quickly, as if out of inertia. “I can establish it here, to live in this house. Stay, and study for the entrance exam next year, decorate the house, make it look inhabited…”</p>
<p>My lips could not part.</p>
<p>"I know it's too early and you have a situation with…" He avoided mentioning Aang's name. “But what I want is to keep exploring this, what we have here and now. If you want the same, I can offer you that. Stay here with me. We can define our relationship later.”</p>
<p>I suddenly regained my speech. It was almost like being able to breathe again.</p>
<p>“Is that what you want?” I conceived new hopes.</p>
<p>"What matters is what you want," he swallowed. “I am here to facilitate that.”</p>
<p>I didn’t know how to answer. He also had to want it, a relationship required both parties to function.</p>
<p>"You must want it too." The words echoed my thoughts.</p>
<p>"I’d like that more than anything else," he said so decisively and bluntly that all my hesitation disappeared. I looked at him for a moment, already beginning to think about the matters I’d have to take care of.</p>
<p>"What do I do with my work?" I asked it more to myself than to him, thinking aloud. It wouldn't be that difficult to get another job here in Ba Sing Se, and if I didn't have to pay rent… Actually, the decision was already made.</p>
<p>"Yeah, about that…" He walked over to his desk and opened one of the drawers. “We need to talk about it. It’s a thorny issue...”</p>
<p>"I must go back anyway, to submit my resignation…" I muttered to myself as I approached him again, for whatever it was he wanted to tell me. I would need a letter of resignation, what was the liquidation policy of the office? I couldn’t remember right now...</p>
<p>"I'm not going to ask you to depend entirely on me." He pulled out a leather-lined folder and wrote something. Then there was the sound of ripping paper, and he put something on the table. “That wouldn’t be right.”</p>
<p>He pulled me out of my planning groove and it took me a moment to follow the thread of what he was saying.</p>
<p>“What do you mean? I can work.” I frowned when I saw what he had put on the table. A check. “Is this…?”</p>
<p>The number of zeros was alarming.</p>
<p>“Do you think I'm for sale?” I clenched my hands into fists. We were doing well, I was sure. <em> And now this? </em></p>
<p>"I'm not paying you to stay!" He raised her hands before a new protest took shape in my mind. “It’s important to me, ok?”</p>
<p>“Why?” In an effort to keep my temper in check, I unclenched my fists. He had exactly one chance to explain himself, and it better be an excellent explanation.</p>
<p>"Look… I'm realistic and I know I'm not very lucky." His smile turned sour. “I’m aware that… we had a strange start, you said so yourself. This simply may not work. I want you to study, to do what you have always wanted to do. Even more so if you quit your job in Chin City…”</p>
<p>I kept staring at him, no longer angry. He sighed.</p>
<p>"I didn't understand it when I was a child, not until much later. My father controlled all of my mother's accounts and properties, nothing was solely hers. It’s not the kind of power that someone should have over another person… So I want you to accept this.”</p>
<p>"I have the million yuan," I reminded him, now intrigued, and he snorted.</p>
<p>"I made that deposit. I know you both have access, you and Mr. Yangchen.” He choked a bit on the name. “This money will go to an account that will be yours and no one else’s. If we decide to not be together anymore, it will remain in your name.”</p>
<p>"I can support myself!" I snapped. I already had, most of my life. I didn't need that money.</p>
<p>“I know. But it is important. So that even if we separate you can study. You asked for information… International relations.” He ran a hand through his hair.</p>
<p>"I can't…" It was too big to conceive, not an easy gift to accept.</p>
<p>"Well... if you don't want it... I suppose I can go and bet it at the Fire Palace," he shrugged with studied nonchalance. I caught his sidelong glance and he seemed to understand that I didn't believe in his threat. “It is the only condition that I put if you want to stay.”</p>
<p>I could choose this battle to fight. To make it perfectly clear to him that I was fully capable of being independent. But maybe… it wasn't the battle that was really worth fighting. I let a smile spread slowly across my face.</p>
<p>"Yes." I stepped forward to take his hand and he squeezed it tightly. “Yes, I want to stay here.”</p>
<p>I let myself be enveloped by the calm and tranquility that he and my decision produced in me. I couldn't bear to part from such a state of mind… I was too scared that both him and the sensations would disappear if I stopped seeing him for a few days. And since I had the confidence to ask for it...</p>
<p>"But with one condition to accept your condition," I finished by saying, and he looked at me, waiting for my words.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>This wasn't exactly the turn of events I expected, but I wasn't going to complain. After all, the purpose of the visit to Chin City was to pack what she needed to move in with me.</p>
<p>"Take off three more days, Ty," I asked when I called her. “I'll be back by Wednesday night.”</p>
<p>She answered me in an incongruous cheerful tone.</p>
<p>“Fine. But shareholders are not going to be happy.”</p>
<p>But <em> I </em> was happy, and that helped me send them to hell for once at least.</p>
<p>"After that, start the arrangements to settle the office on Ba Sing Se."</p>
<p>“Excellent!” I could almost see her own smile in response to mine.</p>
<p>Saturday night I stood up late, making the needed preparations for the trip. We would leave at dawn, to make the most of every possible hour of the day. When I woke her up, she grunted and fell asleep immediately when we were in the car. I laughed softly, she was definitely not a morning person.</p>
<p>She remained sleepy and in a bad mood when we got to the airport and until we settled on the plane. Fortunately, that kept her from noticing the nerves that I didn't want to admit I felt. I struggled to sleep like her in the long hours of flight.</p>
<p>By the time we landed, Katara was much more alert and I hired a rental car to drive to her house. It would be useful to transport the things she wants to take back to the airport.</p>
<p>I parked the car in front of her house and offered her my hand to get out. She cast a glance around her and hesitated a moment before taking it. I immediately started looking for possible things that I had done wrong. But she gave me a tight smile as she thanked me. It seemed that the reason was not me and I breathed more easily as she followed her to the door of the house.</p>
<p>"Good afternoon, Mr. Wang!" Katara greeted an older man leaning on the veranda of the house next door. The man looked at her, looked at me and then turned around, without answering her greeting. I put a hand on her back, trying to convey support as she untangled the keys to open, flustered by her interaction with her neighbor.</p>
<p>"Well… welcome." She let me pass and I looked around, making a conscious effort not to reflect anything in my gesture.</p>
<p>"Thank you." I put an arm around her shoulders and carried the huge suitcase inside. It had been more to give her extra space in case she needed it than to bring things I’d need during the trip.</p>
<p>"Come, leave the suitcase over here." She took my hand more comfortably than when we were in sight of her neighbor and she led me across the room and opened another door, into a room that I assumed was theirs. Or used to be <em> theirs </em>, at least. She hadn't said it plainly, but from some of the things she did say and from the very fact that she had brought me here, I could deduce that he no longer lived in that house.</p>
<p>I put the suitcase in a space under the window that overlooked a small garden and did my best to ignore the photograph hanging on one of the walls. It showed her with her husband, whose features had faded from my memory during the time that had passed since Omashu. I never saw him again, and it was Katara that I couldn't stop thinking about.</p>
<p>But there it was, the evidence of the past. That photography allowed me to put a precise face on the moral conflict of what I was doing. She wanted to be with me, right? I clung to that precarious certainty with all my might.</p>
<p>She noticed the wall that I was avoiding to look at and was startled.</p>
<p>"I’m sorry." She quickly moved away from me and took the photograph to put it on the dresser table, face down.</p>
<p>"It's okay, don't worry," I forced a smile. “I get it.”</p>
<p>Either way, breath came easier once she passed by with a box and collected all the photographs on the walls in which she appeared with her husband.</p>
<p>
  <em> He is still her husband. </em>
</p>
<p>I felt like choking for an instant. All those photographs, the memories… What if I never reached his height in his life? What if after a while, I disappointed her?</p>
<p>I needed to try harder. I still didn't understand why she gave me a chance and since I had it, I would do my best to be worthy of her.</p>
<p>"What do you need me to help you with?" I got to my feet, trying to quench the excessive thoughts with activity.</p>
<p>"I don't need to pack any dishes or kitchen things, right?" She questioned me with her eyes.</p>
<p>"Not at all," I said, there was enough of that back in Ba Sing Se.</p>
<p>"Then I'm going to start with the documents and my clothes." I followed her back into the room and she opened the closet wide. That served to confirm my theory: half of it plus several drawers were empty.</p>
<p>After a while of taking out and arranging what she was passing me in the suitcase (sometimes accompanied by an anecdote about the garment), she suggested a break. The jet lag had caught up with me too. I sat in a chair by the window and decided to rest my eyes for a moment… and that turned into a fit nap.</p>
<p>When I woke up, there was a blanket on my legs and a damp residue of saliva at the corner of my mouth, I had leaned against the wall. I didn't bring the blanket and I blushed at the thought that Katara had seen me sleep in such an undignifying posture.</p>
<p>I stretched and my good ear picked up a noise in the next room where the phone was.</p>
<p>"Yes, Gran Gran," she was talking to her grandmother, a woman I was a little scared to meet. “Starting next week, I will be at Ba Sing Se for a while.”</p>
<p> A very long while, if I had any say on that.</p>
<p>I shook my head. It wasn’t right to eavesdrop on people's calls, no matter how much I wanted to know how she would describe her stay with me to other people (<em> if </em> she did… a new fear was present in my mind, becoming a shameful secret).</p>
<p>There wasn't much to do if I wanted to give her some privacy for her phone calls. Inside the house, I was sure I would be able to hear snippets of their conversation no matter which room I entered.</p>
<p>I put the folded blanket aside and headed for the door. As I passed her, still holding the telephone receiver to my ear, I pointed to the door and she nodded, pointing in turn to the set of keys hanging next to her purse.</p>
<p>"Thank you," I gestured silently and she answered me with a smile.</p>
<p>"I'm still going to call Suki, I'm sure she'll know," was the last I heard before closing the door behind me.</p>
<p>I didn't have a clear plan for what to do once I was gone, so I just let my feet take me where they saw fit. A block later, I had an idea and went back for the car.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>I said goodbye to Gran Gran and it took me a few minutes to dial Suki's number. I was silently grateful that Zuko had come out… I thought he would be asleep for a while longer.</p>
<p>"Hi Suki!" My timbre of voice lightened. Too light; It sounded a bit forced, but I couldn't do much to improve it.</p>
<p>"Katara! Where have you been? I called a couple of times, and you haven't written since after my visit.” Suki spoke quickly and I knew her well enough to know that she was tugging at her brown half ponytail as she scolded me.</p>
<p>“Everything's fine, it's just that I forgot to tell you in time… I was in Ba Sing Se for a few days, I just came back today.”</p>
<p>"You scared me," she sighed. “You're good? Why did you leave?”</p>
<p>I bit my lip. There was no way to save myself from this.</p>
<p>"It was a job offer," I lied with some ease. It was the same thing I had told Gran Gran, and it was not exactly a lie, more of a stretched truth.</p>
<p>"Try not to give us surprises like that. Even though your brother is so absorbed by his job, we both worry about you,” she claimed.</p>
<p>"That's why I'm calling, because I have another surprise..." I closed my eyes tightly, taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't see me.</p>
<p>"Go on…" She urged me to continue with a warning tone.</p>
<p>"I'm moving to Ba Sing Se." I tried to put a cheery note in my voice. “I’m hoping to get a place in the University there next year.”</p>
<p>There was a second of stunned silence.</p>
<p>“Wait, <em> what </em>?” She yelled into my ear. “What about the Air Temple? Weren't you going to use the million yuan for that? What happened, have you talked to Aang?”</p>
<p>And now here I was, about to bring up the subject I least wanted to talk about.</p>
<p>"No, I still have no idea where Aang is," and I didn't need to know to decide on my life. Anger helped me regain my courage. “It’s not with that money that I am leaving.”</p>
<p>“Then?” Her voice squeaked a little across the line.</p>
<p>"Zuko offered me his house in Ba Sing Se. I'll go there and start studying for the admittance exams,” I finally declared, waiting for the storm to unleash.</p>
<p>"Zuko? <em> That </em> Zuko?” There was movement on the other end of the line, as if the phone was rubbing against Suki's clothes. “ <em> Please </em> tell me it's his house but he won't be there.”</p>
<p>"Actually, it's because I'm going to live with him." I curled up on the ground, careful not to over-yank the cable and cut communication by accident.</p>
<p>There was a long silence.</p>
<p>"Katara, you know that you are my friend more than just my sister-in-law" I bit my lip harder, anything that followed that wasn't going to be something I wanted to hear, "so I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart: do you really think it is a good idea to move in with a man you've known for two weeks?”</p>
<p>I clenched my teeth. We both heard the unspoken words too,<em> while you're still married. </em></p>
<p>"Suki, do you think I haven't thought about it?" Against everything I wanted for this conversation, a lump rose in my throat. “I hadn't been as happy as I was last week in so long. Plus, I'll be able to quit that hellish office job and study for the spring entrance exams…”</p>
<p>"Conveniently, you are putting aside the matter that I question you about the emotional health of what you are about to do."</p>
<p>I didn't have a good answer for that, so I kept quiet. She didn't add anything else either.</p>
<p>"Is it really what you want?" She asked a very long minute later, in a much calmer voice.</p>
<p>"Yes," I bit my lip.</p>
<p>"In that case, I support you," Suki finally sighed. “But you have to tell me <em> everything </em> , do you hear me? <em> Everything, </em> no matter how small, that seems like a bad sign.”</p>
<p>"I promise," I nodded seriously. “I'll start calling daily.”</p>
<p>"Not so much, I don't want you to get a phone bill like that…" She stopped herself. “No, actually you know what?, I'll wait for my daily call.”</p>
<p>"Thanks, Suki." It had been a little better than I had expected. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m back in Ba Sing Se.”</p>
<p>I finally hung up, exhausted. The window evidenced that night had fallen in the time my call to Suki lasted, and Zuko still hadn't returned. And I was starting to get hungry.</p>
<p>I was rummaging in the refrigerator when I heard someone struggle with the lock from outside. I walked over and opened to find Zuko juggling two boxes in one hand and keys in the other. Just by looking at him, some of the residual stress from the calls disappeared and I was even more grateful for his company on this trip.</p>
<p>"It’s a tricky lock," I laughed as I helped him with the boxes. “What’s that?”</p>
<p>"It's not a move if there's no takeout." He turned one of the boxes over so I could see the Jasmine Dragon logo on the side. I perked up immediately.</p>
<p>"Excellent idea." I took out some silverware. “There's not much left in the fridge to prepare a quick meal.”</p>
<p>We ate with gusto and exhaustion ended up winning the battle. It was not that late yet, but I was incapable of doing anything else.</p>
<p>"I'm going to try to give someone all the food that is still good," I commented when we finished eating. Fortunately, I kept the fish and meat for myself in the freezer, so nothing had happened to them in the week I was away. On the other hand, the vegetables left in the fridge were a bit withered, but still edible. The only thing that could no longer be saved was a suspiciously brown lettuce and a half empty carton of milk.</p>
<p>I yawned and went to get ready for sleep. There was a moment of discomfort while I waited for him to be ready, because we would sleep in the only bed in the house.</p>
<p>I thanked him in a whisper for just hugging me and not trying to initiate anything else. This place had too many memories for me to feel comfortable doing anything else.</p>
<p>I slept better than I thought I could, and in the morning Zuko drove me to the office. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the matter of my resignation and liquidation took less time than I feared. It seemed that Mr. Tong had sensed something, because I found letters almost completely prepared.</p>
<p>“You’re leaving?” Song asked me with a slight pout once I came out with my signatures in hand.</p>
<p>"Yes." My smile immediately became sincere. “I'm going to Ba Sing Se, to enter the next generation of International Relations.”</p>
<p>“Congratulations!” She stood up and hugged me. “Don't stop writing, I'm going to miss you a lot.”</p>
<p>I kept thinking as I left the building. With all the money Zuko had given me… a part for Song (and for her to study as she had always wanted) didn't sound so far-fetched. I would think about it.</p>
<p>Back at the house, the clothes and important documents were all packed. It remained to decide on some other things (family mementos and trinkets), which I did throughout the afternoon. Later, I called Yue to see if she was already back at her house.</p>
<p>"Can we go leave all this with a friend?" I asked Zuko when I hung up, after making sure she could receive us.</p>
<p>"Of course." The last contents of the fridge went inside some bags and we got into the car. I wasn’t used to getting around Chin City by car and it took some work to get there.</p>
<p>Finally, we pulled up in front of the little suburban house and I rang the bell. Yue greeted us with a smile and let us pass so the frozen food didn't get ruined, but then she stopped in front of Zuko, apparently without any reaction to his scar.</p>
<p>"Nice to meet you, my name is Yue." She smiled and extended a hand that he shook with a slightly stiff posture.</p>
<p>"Zuko, it's my pleasure." Some tension kept on his back as I chatted with Yue and accepted her offer of something to drink.</p>
<p>I made sure Yue had the spare key to the house and asked her to keep an eye out for anything. Especially if the matter was communication from Aang, although I didn't say so.</p>
<p>"A bit too serious for my liking, but you could have done worse," Yue whispered to me as she hugged me goodbye. Then she added in a louder voice. “Good luck and don't stop writing and calling!”</p>
<p>I waved goodbye as Zuko started the car.</p>
<p>I munched that thought on the way back. Yes, he used to be very serious, unless he was off guard. With me he behaved like that, but the walls had risen again the second he was in front of Yue. Maybe there was something I could do to make him feel more comfortable with other people...</p>
<p>We had another good night's sleep (and nothing else). Having him together allowed me to sleep, unlike the days I spent alone in the house... had it really been so little time since then? It felt like so much longer.</p>
<p>The last thing remained before taking the flight back. Although Zuko insisted on taking me to the bank, I made it very clear that I had to make that payment.</p>
<p>"Wait for me here, I won't be long." I would make a deposit for two more months of rent, while deciding what to do with the things that were still in the house.</p>
<p>That same night we boarded the plane back to Ba Sing Se.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>After the first week of school was over, I started to feel more comfortable with the routine. I still mixed up the classrooms in which I had to teach from time to time, but nothing too serious. Now my source of panic came from receiving and grading the first assignment I had left for my new students.</p>
<p>“That's all for today. See you Wednesday,” I dismissed the class before turning around and erasing my notes on the board as the students crowded the door.</p>
<p>"Professor," I heard someone call from behind me. I still wasn't quite used to being called that.</p>
<p>"Do you have doubts, On Ji?" I remembered her name with some ease. She participated a lot in class.</p>
<p>"Those pictures you presented today." She pointed shyly to my image folder. “They don't look like what we saw last year in Art History. Which current do they belong to?”</p>
<p>"It’s Air Nomad art," I replied with a slightly hollow smile.</p>
<p><em> Those volutes come from the Laghima period, and these landscapes were painted by Nun Iio more than a hundred years ago, </em>my father’s voice echoed in my memory. But those names would hold no meaning for the students, so I kept quiet while her eyes widened to saucers.</p>
<p>"Could you tell us more about that?" Behind her came two other people, another girl and a boy with an almost angry gesture. I suspected he had feelings for On Ji.</p>
<p>"It’s fine for me, but it's not what they ask for in the class curriculum," I tried to apologize. In another circumstance I would be ecstatic, but I was unsure of how many liberties I could take in teaching with such a short time on the job.</p>
<p>"Can you at least check? We're willing to take classes at another time,” she pleaded with a nod from the other girl behind her and a grunt from the boy. Their interest made me smile with genuine joy.</p>
<p>"In that case, I'll talk to the deputy headmaster about it," I said with more confidence than I felt, and the three of them said their goodbyes, leaving me with the strange, pleasant sense of anticipation of showing them the legacy of my people.</p>
<p>I had thought about publishing the book, it was my main goal and I felt that it would repay part of my debt to the air nomads, at least until I had children. But I hadn't really stopped to think that people might be interested. It was the first pleasant surprise I’d had in a long time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy beggining of 2021! Now I can tell you with total confidence that the complete story will be 25 chapters long... I laugh everytime I see the note to myself stimating 12-15 chapters and about 22k words, hehe. Hilarious xD</p>
<p>Thanks to those who read and those who comment :D And special thanks to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfilia for their help!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Druk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I cursed in the middle of the mess that was my desk in the study and put aside a pile of books to continue looking for the book I needed.</p><p>"What was a derivative for and how was it done?" I murmured angrily. Not only had I forgotten most of the content in my high school math classes, but I had also forgotten my old dislike of calculus.</p><p>I dug up the study guide (which I bought the same day we returned to Ba Sing Se and which I had studied for almost three weeks since then) and looked for the bookmarked page. I wasn't that bad at history and language, and actually pretty good at geography. Everything except math, which I had never considered so important to what I wanted to study. Unfortunately, it was in the entrance exam.</p><p>My furious pencil notes echoed through the silence of the house on Friday afternoon. Zuko had modified the working hours of his employees at the mansion. From Friday at 2 o'clock, they were free until Monday, which left us an afternoon and two days to have the house to ourselves.</p><p>I checked my result and breathed in relief; it matched the answers in the book. Then I turned back to the question that had given me doubt in the first place.</p><p>After finishing the entire math worksheet, my mood had improved a bit, but my neck hurt and I stretched my back after bending over my sheet of paper too long. Looking up, I saw light coming from below and cursed. It was already dark, and I didn't ask the cook to leave something ready because I was planning to go down and prepare something myself. But it was late, Zuko was back and I hadn't even gotten up from my chair, let alone go to the kitchen...</p><p>I scrambled to my feet, distraught. I ran down the stairs.</p><p>"Sorry, I just stayed studying and I haven't prepared anything..." I entered the room, where I had seen the light, but it was empty. “Zuko?”</p><p>There was more light coming out of the dining room and I headed there with another apology on the tip of my tongue. However, no words came out when I saw him come out of the kitchen in his oven mitts and holding a steaming kettle.</p><p>"Kat, hi. How is the study going?” He smiled at me as he put the kettle on the table after serving two cups, which were already arranged on the table.</p><p>"I…" I stammered. “It’s going... good. I'm reviewing math.”</p><p>The notion that he had taken care of things was so strange that I could not react except with a stunned look.</p><p>"Come on, sit down." He disappeared back into the kitchen door, and returned carrying a wok by both metal handles, with oven mitts protecting his skin from the heat. He left it on the table and placed a pair of kitchen tongs on top. It was only then that I approached the table.</p><p> “When did you arrive?” I settled into the chair he set aside for me, still sorry I hadn't helped at all. The table was set and the food ready to be served.</p><p>"Not so long ago, I went up to see you and I saw you so focused that I didn't want to bother you." He took some tea from his cup and then took a piece of bread from a saucer.</p><p>"But you had time to bake?" I just looked at him with wide eyes.</p><p>“No. I bought those on the way here.” He laughed as he put a muffin on my plate. “My uncle would stop speaking to me if he knew that I bought bread in a cafeteria that, according to him, “destroys” the tea. But their bread is actually pretty good.”</p><p>The meal looked good, consisting of noodles and strips of meat mixed with grilled vegetables on top. I served myself some, more by instinct than consciously.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I'm not as good a cook as my uncle and I wanted to make something quick…" He looked embarrassed and before he finished the sentence, I was already shaking my head.</p><p>"No, no, it's perfect —more than perfect. But we can always order take out, you don't have to bother cooking,” I pointed out, avoiding saying that it hadn't occurred to me either when I was upstairs, worried about the dinner I hadn't prepared.</p><p>"It's not a bother," he smiled before we both turned to the food and the usual questions about how work and company were going.</p><p>Between bites, I smiled, touched by her preoccupation with housework, even more so to go further and prepare something that tasted good. The handful of times Aang had walked into the kitchen, no edible results came out. He used to claim that he was too busy and stayed away from food preparation most of the time. Although I had to admit that the exact two times he had made fruit pies, those had been party meals.</p><p>I put those memories aside before they could make me sad. I better enjoyed the feeling that someone else shared the responsibility of running a house. And that he cared about my problems, I smiled when he offered to help me with the math subjects that were taking me so much work.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The weeks passed with the unconscious ease of breathing. On the morning that marked two months since she had come to Ba Sing Se with me, I woke up late. At least late by my standards, and with a sense of fulfillment I'd barely ever tasted in life: when reality was even better than dreams. And with busy nights, I sometimes fell prey to mid-afternoon naps. If that was the price, it was the best deal I had ever made. </p><p>“What are your plans for today?” I asked Kat as I made tea for breakfast.</p><p>"There's an event at the university, it's all morning, do you want to come?" She offered when she carried the dishes into the dining room.</p><p>"Oh… actually, I'm going to visit my uncle. I thought you could come with me, but you're busy, so it’s fine!” My uncle would like to meet her, although I was a little afraid of what he might say to embarrass me in front of her. Of course, he would insist that it was not his intention to, and he would proceed to do it anyways. </p><p>"Did you tell me before? I'm so sorry! I can check to see if there's another open day at the university later.” She glanced up and down. “Surely it’ll be…”</p><p>"No, he just told me yesterday that he could see me today," I tried to reassure her. “There will be another chance, especially now that he will also be in Ba Sing Se.”</p><p>She calmed down a bit but she still looked sorry. An hour later, I took her to the university before heading to my uncle's house. The mansion where we lived was also an inheritance from my father (and that I could live in peacefully because even though he had bought it, he had never lived there). In contrast, my uncle never moved from the small apartment adjacent to the very first Jasmine Dragon opened in the world.</p><p>The driver took the car and I went to the door to ring the bell, inexplicably nervous. </p><p>“Nephew!” He hugged me as soon as the door was open. “I feel like years have passed since we last met.”</p><p>"Hello, Uncle," I responded to his hug and went inside. “It was just four months ago.”</p><p>"Ah, my mistake. You look very different , that must be why it feels longer.” I followed him to the table where we had sat for tea since we moved into that house. “You seem much happier.”</p><p>"Yes ... I've been doing well these months." The smile crept to my lips. I still couldn't believe it.</p><p>"I guess it has to do with the lady Miss Beifong mentioned so much to me. In her words, she made you 'unbearable',” I nodded as he arrived with the kettle and served us. I still wasn't able to match his tea making  skill. “I'll take the liberty of assuming that all is well with her, even if you haven't called me with news about it.”</p><p>He sat up and I looked down. I had stopped calling him around the time I traveled to Chin City. It was understandable that he was a bit behind the news.</p><p>"She and I… we're living together." My smile widened as I watched the ripples in the tea. “She’s studying for the university entrance exam, to enroll next semester.”</p><p>My uncle's eyes blazed, but he didn't seem surprised.</p><p>“Congratulations, Nephew. When can I meet Miss Katara? I hope you didn't think my invitation today didn't include her…”</p><p>"No, she already had something planned for today." At least he hadn't scolded me. “I'll tell her… she wants to meet you too, she's a fan of the Dragon Jasmine.”</p><p>This time his gaze flashed with pride.</p><p>"Now I'm even more curious to meet such an outstanding girl." He offered me a plate of almond and walnut sweets.</p><p>"Amazing. I'm still surprised she wants to be with me,” I confessed quietly.</p><p>"Don't underestimate yourself like that, nephew. You are a good, honorable man, which is more than what many people out there can say. And very capable of making her happy.”</p><p>"I hope so." After these months, it was a little easier to believe. But I still felt that everything could be lost from one moment to the next. I was more convinced than ever that I wanted to be with her for as long as I could. She, on the other hand, had given me no news about her plans regarding her marriage.</p><p>My uncle sensed the change in my mood and diverted the conversation to his business plans. I responded with the good news from the Fire Corp., including the moment Katara sank Bujing and the projects already in the works at the South Pole.</p><p>"I see why you seem so delighted with her." He laughed heartily, but a moment later he became serious.</p><p>"During my last visit to the Fire Nation, an interesting rumor reached me and I wandered around town until I found the roots. I found a beautiful girl who is also the best private investigation agent the world has ever seen.” He took a sip of tea and then poured himself some more. “I was told that there is no one who can escape her investigation, it is as if she can smell them no matter how much they hide or disguise…”</p><p>My interest shot up immediately.</p><p>"Do you think she could find my mother?" I dropped the cup carelessly and some tea spilled onto the table. I had already exhausted the resources available in the Fire Nation and most agencies in the Earth Kingdom, and they had all said that it was already a lost cause, given the lack of leads and evidence.</p><p>"It's possible." He handed me a white card, with just the name Jun and a phone number. “She works independently and although her fees are high, she says results are guaranteed.”</p><p>"Thanks, Uncle," I carefully kept the card. I'd call as soon as I could, no matter the price. I still didn't give up hope to find out what had happened to my mother.</p><p>My uncle grunted a little as he leaned over and lifted a bundle from the floor that he placed on another of the chairs.</p><p>"And this too." With a broad smile, he showed me a haunting monkey-mandrel statue. “Miss Katara will surely have much better taste than you to place this work of art in a deserving place.”</p><p>"I'll give it to her," I promised, secretly hoping Kat would get rid of her statue as soon as she saw it.</p><p>"When she decides, invite me to your house. I already want to see the changes that only a partner can make in the home of a former bachelor.” Although the matter of the private investigator and my mother remained in a corner of my mind, I pushed the thought away with a smile.</p><p>“She's already started with the modifications” in fact, the furniture we bought together the previous weekend would arrive within the week. “When she first arrived, she said it looked like a party hall and everything looked very lonely. Now there are fresh flowers in every room…”</p><p>And every time I saw them, I couldn't help but smile uncontrollably.</p><p>"Oh, of course. Forgive this forgetful old man… That was the second reason I needed to see you today.” He stood up. “Wait.”</p><p>He left the tea room and came back with a basket, basically a woven box with a hole that served as a door. I leaned out and let out an exclamation that made the scaly red creature lazily open one eye, which it immediately closed again.</p><p>"Why didn't you tell me one of the eggs was about to hatch?" I alternated my gaze between my uncle and the dragon, eyes wide.</p><p>"You were very preoccupied with other matters." The benevolent smile eliminated any tone of reproach I could find in his words. “I've always said that things come when they should come.”</p><p>If only he weren't so satisfied with that.</p><p>Take the basket from his arms. The dragon inside, despite his young age, was already as big as my forearm. Knowing his parents, Ran and Shaw, I knew he would grow up to be big enough to ride when he grew up.</p><p>Dragons weren't ordinary animals. Like badger moles and bison dogs, they were species that had a strong connection to humanity and possessed a strange mix of wild and domesticated nature.</p><p>Although in recent years I had stopped helping my uncle with his charitable association (founded to promote the conservation and recovery of dragons), I still remembered well some of the necessary care.</p><p>"I'm not entertaining you anymore, this little boy needs to know his new home." In addition to the basket, there was another package that I could bet contained the food supplements, toys and other supplies necessary for the dragon. “Do you already know how you are going to name him?”</p><p>I couldn't take my eyes off the little red dragon. The light reflected off his mane almost like lightning...</p><p>"Druk," I declared, considering there would be no better name for him. “His name is Druk.”</p><p><em> "Thunder dragon, </em>" my uncle agreed. “Welcome to the family.”</p><p>After saying goodbye to my uncle and thanking him for helping me carry all the packages to the car, I smiled the whole way and couldn't help but see Druk through the gap in the basket. I hoped Kat would like him… I was dying to show her.</p><p>As soon as I entered the house, I put the basket down for a moment. The last few minutes, Druk had woken up and kept moving, so as soon as he was at ground level, he stretched out and took the first steps out of him. He made a questioning sound as he looked around.</p><p>"Yes, it's your new home." I knelt down to be level with him and rubbed my hand on his nose, to help him familiarize himself with the smells. “You are going to meet someone very important to me, try to make a good impression, okay?”</p><p>Druk looked at me with huge glowing eyes before licking my hand. I assumed he understood.</p><p>"Zuko? Is It you?” Kat's voice came from the library, without leaving.</p><p>“Yes. I have a surprise,” I yelled back. I walked and Druk followed me. “I remember you said something about this house needing a dog.”</p><p>Little Druk ran over to Katara, accompanied by the clattering of his claws on the floor. She sat on the ground immediately and opened her arms to receive him.</p><p>"I know it's not exactly a dog… My uncle gave it to me for adoption."</p><p>"I should have guessed that if you brought a pet, it would be a dragon." She rolled her eyes, but the smile betrayed her joy. “He is lovely!”</p><p>I sat next to her, watching with a huge smile as she paid attention to Druk. This is how I would like the rest of my life to pass.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Almost a week after Druk's arrival, Zuko left early in the morning, grumbling about an emergency meeting over Bujing's incarceration for fraud, and I had taken the opportunity to get some more sleep. At least, until Druk woke me up with his demands for attention. After playing with him for almost an hour, he finally felt satisfied and went to take a nap in the garden.</p><p>I thought of taking the opportunity to review the topics of the previous day, and went to my desk in the library. But once I got settled in, I realized that I wouldn't be able to focus. The little folding calendar drew my gaze like a magnet… there were just three days left before the rent was due again. That also meant that the end of the year holidays were approaching, and I had no desire to face my family.</p><p>I put the parties and family gatherings out of my mind, the rent part was more urgent. Maybe I would have to fly to Chin City again.</p><p><em> You don't have to </em>, Zuko's voice whispered, almost worried. I was startled. True, if I didn't want to, I didn't have to… I would avoid going back to Chin City as much as possible, at least for the time being. Although it was time to do something that had been put off for quite some time.</p><p>I dialed Yue's number, and after the initial greetings and questions, I decided to make my request.</p><p>"Yue, can I ask you another favor? I swear it's the last one.” I squeezed the charm on my necklace.</p><p>"Tell me, you know it's no problem." Her voice would never stop being kind, even if she was asked for a sacrifice. I was afraid I'd abuse her good will.</p><p>"Can you go over to the house this weekend? I need you to pack everything Aang left to take to a warehouse. From the rest, you can take what you want.”</p><p>"Have you already located Aang?" The surprise at her question made me feel guilty.</p><p>"Not really, but I think it's time." I settled on a more measured stance. I was starting to be in a hurry to part with Aang…</p><p>"Okay, I can do that next weekend," she agreed, and I made a mental promise to get her a huge compensation gift, knowing that she wouldn't take a payment in money.</p><p>Ending that call, I made another to Song, with the same request. I left her my address and the promise of a payment that I knew she would accept. Hanging up, I sighed. There was still an unfinished business. The worst of all, in fact.</p><p>I checked the contact book I had from Chin City and dialed the number in the secret hope that he wouldn't answer.</p><p>“Yes?” The kindest version of Jet's voice answered me on the other end of the line.</p><p>"Hi Jet, this is Katara." I didn't even try to smile. At least, I could take advantage of him not seeing me.</p><p>“Really?” His tone changed immediately to surprise. “Wow, it’s curious you called.”</p><p>I clenched my teeth. Today I was feeling especially irritable.</p><p>"Yeah Jet, you see…" There was no gentle way to introduce what I was going to say, so I just proceeded. “I've had... problems with Aang…”</p><p>"Are you looking for him? In fact Aang is right here. Do you want to talk to him, Katara?” I heard a rushing sound and a thump in the background. “Oh… no, he just jumped out the window.”</p><p>I rolled my eyes. Jet lived in a one-story house. And exasperation masked a dull ache at the level of my breastbone.</p><p>"Has he been with you all this time?" For weeks, <em> months, </em>not a word of him. It was the same as if he was lost at sea.</p><p>"No, we found each other recently…" I noticed his discomfort over the phone and counted to three before speaking again.</p><p>"I didn't want to talk to him anyway. I decided that the best thing for my situation was to move and Aang left some of his stuff at the house. I would like you to tell him that everything that is not mine exclusively I will leave it deposited in a warehouse so that he can go through things whenever he wants, without having to see me or talk to me, since he is so determined to avoid me at all costs” in that last sentence crept a caustic tone into my voice.</p><p>"Katara… That's a big step." Suddenly Jet sounded serious like I rarely remembered hearing. “The way I see it, it's simple: he loves you, you love him too. Why don't you meet one day to try to solve it?”</p><p>His tone of voice became the most charismatic he had. However, the voice alone was less convincing than when he backed it up with body language, and it left me unimpressed.</p><p>"Do you swear he loves me?" I said sarcastically. “People who love you don’t abandon you.”</p><p>I shut up my reproaches before they overflowed, Jet wasn't really who they were meant for.</p><p>"I don't know what happened between you, but I'm sure he loves you," he interjected bravely. I did not want to hear more.</p><p>"I'll send you the address of the warehouse in a letter." I refused to call again, now less than ever. “I’ll pay for the rental expenses.”</p><p>"Katara, please, you have to talk to him…" He tried to intervene again and I bit back the urge to groan.</p><p>"Just tell him." Fed up, I hung up the phone without giving him a chance to say anything more. I wiped away a tear with a sharp movement, I wasn't going to talk to Aang, he didn't even try to reach me! From what I had seen and what Yue said, he hadn’t even found out that our old house in Chin City was unoccupied.</p><p>I consoled myself with the idea that another of the ropes that tied me to Aang had just disappeared.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>I enjoyed teaching a lot more than I would have thought a couple of months earlier. In addition, the people in the "classes" (which were more like informal talks) about the art of the air nomads increased week by week and I already had a small group of six students who listened to my stories weekly and looked at the pictures that no one but I had contemplated in a long time. They not only learned from the pictures, but also from the culture behind it, and I couldn't be happier.</p><p>I had requested a classroom for those talks, and in fact the headmaster had given authorization. That morning he had sent for me to ask me for a class plan, because they wanted to request the creation of an elective for the following semester.</p><p>Planning things wasn't something that came naturally to me, and I also wanted to talk to a friend about the good news, so that afternoon after school I visited Jet. Fortunately, I had also gotten a small apartment to stop living in his chair, and although it wasn't the most comfortable thing for Appa, he could take it to the college campus during the day and there was plenty of room.</p><p>When I arrived, he already had drinks ready and we toasted the success of my classes. I dodged another question from Jet that sought to find out if Katara would eventually arrive with me at Omashu and listened to his comments about the latest cases he had handled with the Freedom Fighters.</p><p>I was already getting my second glass when the phone rang, and Jet answered.</p><p>“Yes?” By my side, I took a sip from my can of alcoholic soda. I didn't understand how Jet could handle a liquid as bitter as beer. “Really? Wow, it’s curious you called.”</p><p>I began to play with the cork on his bottle, twirling it absently between my fingers.</p><p>"Yes, Aang is actually right here. Do you want to talk to him, Katara? Hearing the name left petrified and the cork fell to the ground. I energetically gestured a gigantic "no" with my arms. He didn't see me or he ignored me and I ran to the open window and jumped out. “Oh… no, he just jumped out the window.”</p><p>I put my back against the wall and covered my ears with my hands. Despite that, I continued to hear the low murmur of the rest of the conversation. Jet's tone was much more serious than before… It wouldn't be good news.</p><p>Of course, how could I expect good news? After running away to avoid facing her, I let the time pass and the only thing that had accomplished was worsening the whole situation.</p><p>The conversation went on for what seemed like an eternity, in which I didn't uncover my ears until Jet stuck his torso out the window to search for me, finding me by looking down.</p><p>"What was that, Aang?" He leaned against the windowsill and frowned. “When was the last time you spoke to her?”</p><p>I shrugged and hugged my knees.</p><p>"Since… the afternoon I left home?" I didn't look at him when I confessed the true situation between Katara and me. For months, I had evaded a clear answer, shielded behind vague phrases that made him eventually stop insisting (at least insisting too much).</p><p>“<em> That's serious. </em> From what you said, I thought you were only a little distanced! <em> A little distanced, </em>not basically separated!” He massaged his temples. “At work, there had been divorce requests for way less than that.”</p><p>The word echoed in my brain like I had a cathedral bell in my skull. <em> Divorce. She is about to leave me. </em></p><p>“What did she say?” I asked trembling, not trying to get up from my position on the floor under her window.</p><p>"It was serious," he repeated, clenching and unclenching his fists. “Katara is leaving Chin City. She says that what you left in the house will be in a warehouse for you to get it when you want to.”</p><p>"Where will she go? Did she tell you? Did she say something about that?” I sought his gaze fervently. My limbs tingled with the desire to move.</p><p>“Nothing at all. Only that she would send me the address of the warehouse, and to make sure you found out. She is going to pay the rent for the warehouse.”</p><p>I sank even lower to the ground. I had no choice but to surrender to the truth: although even if I knew where she was, I didn't know if I would have the courage to go looking for her. I did not have the courage to face my words that afternoon...</p><p>“What can I do?” My feet began to move on the ground, striking incessantly.</p><p>Jet sighed and went back inside. When she returned to the window, he took a long drink from his beer bottle.</p><p>"As I see it, and believe me, I have experience, you have little time left before everything goes to shit." He plucked a small branch from the bush and brought it to his mouth to chew on the stem. “She doesn't even want to think about talking to you, somehow you have to get things clear with her.”</p><p>Unable to sit still another second, I jumped to my feet.</p><p>"I have to prepare my classes." If I didn't think about it, the problems didn't exist. I headed to the door to pick up Appa and Jet's claim followed me.</p><p>"Is that all you intend to do? Prepare your classes? She is your wife, but if you keep it up she won't be for much longer!” I met him again at the door.</p><p>He was right and I wanted to kick something.</p><p>“I already know that! I don't need you to remind me that I have behaved like trash, Jet, I already know that!” I clenched my hands into fists until my knuckles were white. “If you have so much experience, then tell me what to do!”</p><p>“<em> I already told you. </em>You have to find her and talk to her. As soon as you can, or it will be too late!”</p><p>"And how am I going to find her?" I wanted to hide behind my hands. It was a rhetorical question only in part. Jet might have an idea.</p><p>"Start with Chin City, she may still be in the house." He sounded a little calmer, but still dangerously close to a vein popping out of his forehead.</p><p>"I can't go before next weekend, I have classes." Anger deflated inside me, leaving only the anguish.</p><p>"Do what you can, and see if that's enough." He looked up at the sky as Appa ran toward me. I didn't say goodbye when he closed the door to his house and I started the long walk home.</p><p>Even if it costed everything, I would look for K, I decided. The only thing bigger than my fear of facing my actions was my terror of losing her.</p><p> </p><p>I had to go to Chin City.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As you may perhaps see, I consider Druk to be one of the few salvageable things that were done within the canon universe of Avatar after the Agni Kai episode at the end of the series. I love him with intensity and passion and as long as I find a way to introduce him, I will.</p><p>Thanks so much for reading, and to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia for betaing this work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Close to the end</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ba Sing Se wasn't as warm as Caldera. However, the last months of the year meant winter in the southern hemisphere, and summer in the northern hemisphere. It was the first time that, so close to the end of the year, I could wear tank tops and not freeze to death.</p>
<p>Breakfast with iced tea was another enjoyable novelty. Although I still wasn’t entirely used to  finding the mail on a silver tray on the table. The common occurrence in my life had been seeing the sheaf of papers slip into Appa's mouth. However, in this case, the silver tray was better, because if Druk tried to bring the mail, it would no longer be legible when it reached our hands.</p>
<p>The presence of the little dragon (who had gained at least eight inches in length in the time he had been in the house) was something I deeply appreciated. There were no more quiet, lonely mornings when Zuko had to take a short trip to another city.</p>
<p>Today, the amount of mail that reminded me of Appa stood out because it was larger than usual, and one of the letters was addressed to me, which is quite rare.</p>
<p>"Yours." Zuko took his own letters and put them in a pocket. Instead, I opened it right away, as I always did. There was already a small collection of letters sent by my grandmother to this new address.</p>
<p>I glanced quickly over the letters, in notably more careful handwriting than my father's. Although I had been calling Suki daily as promised, we could seldom take more time to chat, and my grandmother preferred correspondence over phone calls.</p>
<p>The last paragraph made me stop in my tracks. Was it really time for the festivities? Gran Gran wrote that she would have the house ready to receive us in mid-December. She’d have ready my usual bedroom, where I slept as a child and which I had shared with Aang and Appa since the first year we were married.</p>
<p>But this time there were no Aang and Appa. And I had no idea what Zuko used to do for the holidays...</p>
<p>This was a detail that I hadn't thought of when I moved in, and it hadn't even come up in the calls with Suki. I still had quite present my desire to show Zuko the land that was my home, all the snow and the long winter nights. But forcing him to go with my family, who probably wouldn't take my actions so well…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> I have no idea how to talk about this with him. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I glanced up, searching for him, but his chair was empty. I hadn’t noticed the moment when he left, and I exited the dining room to look for him, the remains of my breakfast already forgotten.</p>
<p>"Zuko?" I searched the rooms downstairs, the living room, the library, and the garden. I found him upstairs, adjusting the sleeves of a light green shirt with embroidered flowers on the cuffs. He once confessed that it was a gift from his uncle.</p>
<p>“Ready to go?” He turned to see me with a smile whose softness never ceased to amaze me. After the brief distraction of smiling back, I wanted to slap myself on the forehead. Of course, this Saturday we were going to visit his uncle.</p>
<p>“Right away!” I ran to my own closet, to change into some of the new clothes that now made up my wardrobe. In the rush, it didn't seem like a good time to discuss the end of the year plans… I was so distracted by the idea of that conversation that I didn't even enjoy his usual nervousness when I changed in front of him.</p>
<p>“All ready!” I pepped up. He placed a kiss on my temple and we went out to the car. On the way I kept quiet and polished the pendant on my necklace with my fingers. He immediately felt that something was bothering me.</p>
<p>"Is something worrying you? If it's my uncle, it's okay if you don't want to come.” He carefully put an arm around my shoulders.</p>
<p>"No, no, I want to meet him." I tried to smile. Actually, thinking that he wanted to introduce me to his family (the part that hadn't hurt him, at least) filled me with warm joy. Someone who didn't want me to stay wouldn't do that.</p>
<p>"Thank you," he hugged me, and it grieved me a little that he thought he should thank me. As if he didn't deserve it...</p>
<p>The car stopped in front of the Jasmine Dragon and I blinked in bewilderment. I didn't have time to ask anything before he led me through a side hallway to the entrance, with a simple door wedged into the building.</p>
<p>"We lived here for many years." He smiled at the memory after ringing the bell. “I moved after finishing college, I didn't want to be a burden to my uncle.”</p>
<p>I wanted to claim that I didn't think his uncle would see him as a burden, if he was the one who had decided to take Zuko with him, but the door opened to give way to an older man with a long gray beard and broad silhouette, dressed in a silk shirt embroidered with white flowers. Without intending any offense, it was exactly how I expected the founder of the Dragon Jasmine to look like.</p>
<p>"Miss Katara, nephew!" With open arms, he welcomed us and we went into the house.</p>
<p>"Just Katara, please," I smiled with a hand extended to him, which he shook without delay. His grip was firm and warm and I immediately felt more comfortable. Not that at some point I had been afraid of him, judging by the obvious affection Zuko felt for him, but I was a little afraid that he wouldn’t like me.</p>
<p>"In that case, you can call me Uncle Iroh, or just Uncle." I followed the two of them to a small room with a table that already had three cups and a tea set prepared with steam already coming from the kettle.</p>
<p>"My nephew told me you liked the Jasmine Dragon." He said as I sat in the chair that Zuko set aside for me. “I took the liberty to prepare one of my specialties, as a celebration of meeting each other.”</p>
<p>"You shouldn't have bothered." I smiled over my mug, already enjoying the scent. “But thank you very much.”</p>
<p>"It's not a bother." He sat down, too, and took the first drink with a satisfied sigh. “It is a rare pleasure to have such good company over a cup of tea. Tell me, do you like living in Ba Sing Se?”</p>
<p>"Oh, of course." My hands around the cup were a bit sweaty. “It’s such a… well-kept city.”</p>
<p>Uncle Iroh laughed.</p>
<p>"Yes, all these walls can get suffocating no matter how much they decorate them."</p>
<p>I blushed.</p>
<p>“I also mean the landscaping and sidewalks… It’s always clean and walking around downtown is very pleasant. The University campus is so big, it never ceases to amaze me.” I smiled at the thought that soon I might be studying there. “I can't believe you need a bus to move between the faculties.”</p>
<p>They listened to my narration about the university for a few minutes and both contributed some other comments about the city. Iroh had studied at Caldera, not at Ba Sing Se, but he mentioned the odd tip anyway.</p>
<p>He excused himself for a moment and went out into the kitchen.</p>
<p>"My nephew told me you're from the South Pole," he said when he returned with a plate of cupcakes that made my mouth water just to see them.</p>
<p>"My whole family is from there," I nodded as he offered me the plate and took one of the cupcakes, one with little lotus flowers made from meringue. I sighed with the first bite.</p>
<p>"How do you celebrate New Years Eve? I'm afraid the one time I visited the South Pole was too long ago and not a very pleasant memory. Definitely not due to the place itself, of course.”</p>
<p>Zuko cleared his throat and looked away.</p>
<p>"Does that have to do with the fight Ty Lee mentioned?" I looked at him with narrowed eyes. About that episode, Zuko had fallen deathly silent every time I tried to ask him.</p>
<p>"So the rumor has reached you?" Iroh chuckled. “My nephew has greatly improved his character in recent years, but he wasn't always like that. Has he told you about the time he went out in the middle of a storm to curse his fate?”</p>
<p>"Uncle, please," Zuko sank into his arms, leaning on the table. “Do not do this to me.”</p>
<p>His voice was muffled, and as tempting as the prospect of acquiring more such anecdotes was, he looked so dismayed that I decided to change the subject.</p>
<p>"I'm sure it was very dramatic and fate deserved being cursed at." I patted him on the back before returning to the initial question. He gave me a grateful look. “At the end of the year, there’s a Spirit Festival. We have a fair full of stalls, games and celebrations of Tui and La, the spirits of the Moon and the Sea. We make offerings at family altars and sprinkle the houses with seawater.”</p>
<p>"Very interesting." Uncle Iroh stroked his beard. “I would like to visit again, but I'm afraid the harsh winter would be too much for my bones. I will lean towards the temperate climate of Omashu this winter.”</p>
<p>He smiled as he offered to refill my cup.</p>
<p>"Omashu? What do you mean, Uncle?” Zuko looked at him with some ill-concealed suspicion.</p>
<p>“Exactly that. It seemed like a good time to let you know that I will spend this end of the year in Omashu. My old friend Bumi is hosting an anniversary party.” He happily took another pastry and swallowed it in one bite. “It reassures me to see that I will leave you in much more pleasant company than that of some nostalgic old people.”</p>
<p>My eyes widened. His uncle was even better than Zuko himself at guessing at matters that caused me concern.</p>
<p>"What’s the filling of this pastry? I don't recall seeing them in the Jasmine Dragon menu,” I interrupted. The subject of the holidays could be better discussed with Zuko a little later.</p>
<p>"No, these are recipes that are still being refined." His attention returned to the nearly empty plate of pastries.</p>
<p>"They are delicious," I assured him, before he embarked on a tale of his baking adventures that I only half followed. Baking was not my specialty, although I accepted his offer that one day he would show me his recipes anyway.</p>
<p>"I'll prepare the ingredients for some weekend when we can coincide. But for today I won’t keep you here any longer. Surely you have better plans for Saturday afternoon than boring yourselves here.”</p>
<p>Despite Zuko's protests about how it wasn't a bother to visit Iroh, he was already determined for us to leave.</p>
<p>Between goodbyes and last-minute compliments for tea and food, we exited through a door that led to the Jasmine Dragon instead of the corridor through which we had entered. I stood for a moment to inspect the cupcakes displayed in the tea shop display case as the two exchanged their goodbyes.</p>
<p>"Mr. Iroh had this prepared for you." The same waiter who had served us the previous time approached me with a cardboard box closed with a bow.</p>
<p>"Wow, thank you very much," I agreed with surprise, and gave Uncle Iroh a smile, who was about to disappear back behind the door toward his house.</p>
<p>Together with Zuko, we got in the car and started back. I couldn't resist and leaned over to the box: an assortment of the Dragon Jasmine pastries.</p>
<p>"Baking is not my strong suit, but I'll do my best when we come," I fervently promised as I saw the small, intricate caramel and chocolate decorations. Zuko laughed.</p>
<p>Once we entered the house, I put the box on the table in the living room and called him. Fortunately, the rest of Saturday was free, and he was in no rush to get to the office, leaving us plenty of room to chat.</p>
<p>"Hmm... Zuko..." He immediately rested his gaze on me and listened, listening for me to continue. “I was wondering…”</p>
<p>“Yes?” He waited for me to continue.</p>
<p>"Regarding what your uncle said…" Suddenly my mouth felt completely dry. “What are your plans for the holidays?”</p>
<p>I avoided looking at him.</p>
<p>"Oh well, since he will be away, I was thinking of spending them here with you… I don't know what you want to do. In the city there are several parties to which you can buy tickets. They'll start promoting them in the next month, I guess,” he suggested in a wary voice.</p>
<p>"Uh… it's just…" My hand flew to the pendant on my necklace. “It is the time when I usually see my family…”</p>
<p>"You mentioned it, of course." He hit his forehead. “Tell me more about it?”</p>
<p>“When I lived in Chin City, I would move to the coast and then take a boat to Kyoshi. There I met my brother and his wife to take the boat to the South Pole. We go with my grandmother and we spend about two weeks together.”</p>
<p>I had already mentioned much of that to him in our talks about my family, but never as a whole, like now.</p>
<p>He absorbed the information and nodded before intervening.</p>
<p>"How much do they know… you know? About us?” His voice was even more cautious, and he avoided looking at me when he asked that.</p>
<p>"I've only told my sister-in-law everything…" I was pretty sure that both Sokka and Grandma had a sense already. Dad would be, as always, the last to know about things.</p>
<p>That was precisely why, they knew almost nothing (and Suki hadn't said it) so they waited for me to visit, like every year. I didn’t want to think about the call in which I announced that of course, I would visit, but without Aang.</p>
<p>What was worse? Arriving alone, or with a new boyfriend?</p>
<p>“Do you want me to go? I can stay here,” he chimed in softly.</p>
<p>It might be the best idea… I wasn't sure how my family would receive my change of romantic status. Half of them didn't even know that I was no longer living with Aang, even though they knew that I had moved to Ba Sing Se.</p>
<p>After all, I couldn't expect him to meekly submit to the hell my family would surely put him in, especially if someone took Aang's side. Suki hadn't, and he didn't think my brother would. But Dad and Gran Gran... they would probably look at me, disappointed and saying “Do you remember I warned you before you got married? I told you to think more before taking such an important decision” as soon as they saw me arrive alone.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” I bit my lip. That would save him that trouble, but I would miss him terribly. I hadn't realized how much I leaned on his presence until it occurred to me to do without him.</p>
<p>“It’s important for you. I don't mind waiting to meet your family, they may think… this was a bit sudden.” He clutched his hands together.</p>
<p>The image of him spending the holidays alone with his uncle and little Druk saddened me. And if his uncle left... he and Druk, alone...</p>
<p>No, it was not the best solution.</p>
<p>"It is important to me, yes." I looked at my hands, resting on my lap. He could still say no... “But if you prefer to stay here, I will fully understand.”</p>
<p>"Only if you want me to stay here," he returned the unspoken question. For one moment I was nervous, but the next I laughed out loud. It was a little late to doubt that much. He looked at me like I had lost my mind, and maybe he was right.</p>
<p>"I would like you to accompany me. So that you meet my family, as I met your uncle.” I looked at him with a spark of amusement. “Although I warn you that my family can be a bit difficult. That’s why I give you the option to say no and stay here.”</p>
<p>He was silent for a moment.</p>
<p>"Can Druk go? He shouldn't be left alone that long, he's still too young and family connection is important during his development” as if to emphasize it, the dragon in question ran up to us and asked to get on the couch, which he did even before we said yes.”</p>
<p>"We can take Druk, that's not a problem. Aa…” I stopped, but then continued. I would have to mention him at some point. “Aang took his bison-dog every winter. The only problem is that the weather can be too cold for Druk.”</p>
<p>"Does it reach negative temperatures?" He asked as he ran his fingers through Druk's deep red mane.</p>
<p>"If there are no storms, about -12 degrees Celsius," I nodded, a little wistful for the cold air and snow. I was enjoying the mild weather in the northern hemisphere, but… the cold was the mark of my home.</p>
<p>"I'll have to ask one of the expert vets, but I think we can manage. I’d love to go with you to the South Pole.”</p>
<p>"Thank you," I said quietly, and he hugged me.</p>
<p>I felt Druk's claw land on my knee, demanding attention.</p>
<p>"I'd better get him to the garden before he attacks another cushion," he laughed before getting to his feet. Preceded by a leaping Druk, Zuko stepped out into the garden; there he had already begun to put together what would be a kind of obstacle course with bars, ladders and platforms that Druk would need as he grew.</p>
<p>I let the air out of my lungs; the pre-tension had stressed me out more than the conversation itself, as if I had just run a half marathon.</p>
<p>One less worry, and I began to build up anticipation for the journey that would take Zuko to the place where I was born.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That Monday, when Zuko went out and I took care of some of the thousands of issues that always crop up in a house, I sat down on the study to call Suki.</p>
<p>"I'm coming with Zuko," I announced as soon as I noticed her hinting at the proximity of the holidays. I printed as much security as possible in my voice. It was a decision made.</p>
<p>Suki let out an excited scream that took me by surprise.</p>
<p>"Since everything seems ok with him, I want to meet him," she laughed. “Although I don't envy you for having to tell the whole story.”</p>
<p>"Yeah…" The part of the contract was something I definitely wasn't going to tell the rest of my family. “I won’t talk about Omashu if you don't.”</p>
<p>"My lips are sealed," she promised vehemently. “You're going to have to explain how you met him anyway, I hope you know.”</p>
<p>I sighed. There were still a few weeks to think about it.</p>
<p>“Okay. To the second part of the matter. How are you going to get there?” I dismissed the topic.</p>
<p>"As always, your father will see us in Kyoshi and we will take the boat with the car to cross."</p>
<p>"Then we can catch up with all of you there too," with an air of finality, I settled the matter.</p>
<p>"Oh no, nothing like that. You won't make me drive the truck if the three of them are in the same vehicle together.” It was the kind of voice that didn't admit a reply.</p>
<p> "They will behave." I rolled my eyes and leaned back on the table, shifting the phone. “Zuko is not going to provoke them, he is a decent person.”</p>
<p>"You can assure that of your new love." I didn’t see it, but I was sure that Suki had rolled her eyes. “I know Sokka and I know your father, <em> a trip with the three of them together would be a nightmare. </em> I refuse to go through that. No, you two arrive a day earlier or something and we catch up with you once you are at the house.”</p>
<p>"You want to avoid introductions with Gran Gran," I accused her.</p>
<p>"Do you blame me for wanting to avoid the crossfire?" She said in a light tone. “Look, I'm in charge of telling Sokka that you’ll bring Zuko and that he should start deleting Aang from the family tree, I think that's enough of me.”</p>
<p>"Okay," I conceded through my teeth, Suki was right. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>A brief and more trivial conversation followed, along with a resurgence of my excitement about visiting the South Pole. After that, the talk with Gran Gran was less bad than I had feared.</p>
<p>"Aang won't come with me. I’m taking someone else. And a dragon,” I added, hoping she would ask me about the latest rather than about my new traveling companion.</p>
<p>"I'll meet you at the port," was all she said about it, not even mentioning that we would arrive with a<em> dragon. </em> “I have surprise news for everyone when you all arrive.”</p>
<p>I sighed in relief once everything was settled. That afternoon I kidnapped Zuko to buy tickets and some clothes more suitable for the weather. The coat and boots would be better to buy there, but he would still need thermal clothing, thick socks, and sweaters to wear under the coat.</p>
<p>"Still a coat on top of all this? <em> Another layer? </em> I won't be able to fold my arms,” he complained as he tried on the things I had selected in one of the stores.</p>
<p>"The other option is to freeze yourself into a popsicle," I replied with a big smile and a sing-song tone.</p>
<p>"Okay," he feigned defeat, but I could see the spark of amusement in his response when he went back into the dressing room to change.</p>
<p>The smile refused to leave my face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> I am happy. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The days after the talk with Jet, I had to choose duty over feelings. I spent all my time finishing structuring a study plan for a class on the art of air nomads… I couldn't fail the university, not after the opportunities they were giving me.</p>
<p>(Although in my opinion, attempting to save my marriage and have children was a far superior move compared to just spreading the culture of my people).</p>
<p>The following Friday, as they turned in the paperwork, they assured me that approval would not be a problem and that they had even better news.</p>
<p>"We received a formal invitation from Ba Sing Se University for you to be part of the Art Week panel of speakers." The deputy director smiled at me with all his teeth. “In addition, your contract for a full-time position will begin to be processed.”</p>
<p>I smiled without putting any real enthusiasm into the gesture. I wasn't sure that tying myself to Omashu like that was what I really wanted... Although Art Week did make me look forward to it. It was one of the most important forums in the art domain, and it was a platform that I had only dreamed of since I was studying.</p>
<p>The next day, I took the few savings I had accumulated in those months (there had been many expenses, with the deposit of the new rent, things that had to be bought and a couple of embarrassing mistakes when taking public transport) and bought my plane ticket to Chin City. The idea was to see the few things that I left behind, but above all, to try to contact K.</p>
<p>Of course, before anything else, I tried to go to the house that I had shared with her for our entire marriage except for the last few months. I was greeted by a “For Rent” sign and the bleak absence of a welcome mat and curtains on the windows. Trying to brush off the impending sense of dread, I went to look for Yue.</p>
<p>"Did you visit the house?" She answered me with an awkward smile. “I don't know, I have no way of communicating with her... The last I knew is that she was planning to move to a big city.”</p>
<p>The news made me stumble in mid-step.</p>
<p>"Do you have her address?" "I begged her, hoping that the one who had helped her settle there was Yue.</p>
<p>"No, Aang, I'm sorry. She arranged everything herself.” Yue looked away. She knew something that she didn't want to tell me.</p>
<p>After that, she endeavored to divert the conversation to the things that were still in the warehouse and how I would take them with me. Knowing that I wouldn’t get any more information from her, I bid her goodbye and went to the address written on the letter Jet had received. That letter had Katara's handwriting and I asked Jet to keep it. At least I had that...</p>
<p>In the depressing cement cube that was rented as a warehouse, I found exactly four large boxes. The first contained my college sketchbooks, the second had some books that I left behind. In the third, there was an assortment of things: shelf ornaments, dishes, bedding, and a rolled up rug. The last one had papers from my archive at the bottom (some that I didn't even contemplate taking with me) and on top, the pictures we had hanging on the walls.</p>
<p>The first were engravings or paintings that I had made, but the others were the photographs where we appeared together.</p>
<p>Our impromptu wedding, the first New Year festival after that, one of us with Appa in the park. Two of our short trips to villages near Chin City, another where we hung out on a bench. There was one missing, one where we were both with her family.</p>
<p>But these, these she had left behind.</p>
<p>Not wanting to think about why I was doing that, I pulled the photographs out of the frames, which I furiously pushed aside. I put the photographs in the first box. I would take with me only the notebooks and books. The two remaining boxes would be left to the owner of the warehouse, I didn’t want them.</p>
<p>The service included transportation and I asked for the packages to be delivered to the bus station. It was hours until the departure marked on my ticket, and I didn't feel able to sit on the uncomfortable benches at the station for so long.</p>
<p>I walked around without a clear goal. Overwhelmed by nostalgia, my steps led me back to the old house, now empty. So many years of memories, of laughter and kisses, of mornings together and of walks in the small garden.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Since we got married, everything we've done has been around what you wanted! </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her reproach, shaking with rage, came back to me stronger even than the horrible afternoon when she first told me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> I put my dreams aside to help you! And you pay me back for all that, with refusing to even listen to me! </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I fell to my knees on the grass outside the window of what used to be our room, unable to muster the strength to stand.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry K! You are not like that, I love you! I shouldn't have doubted you!” I murmured through clenched teeth, my hands sinking into the soft earth in front of me.</p>
<p>"Young Aang?" I heard from behind me that someone was approaching. One of the feet was dragging a bit, something characteristic of the neighbor, whom I found when I turned around.</p>
<p>"Mr. Wang." My greeting was a bit lackluster. “I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to you, now I’m living in Omashu. I got a new job.”</p>
<p>"Congratulations, boy." He leaned on his cane, standing next to me.” But it seems to me that you are not quite well.”</p>
<p>"It's…" I wasn't doing well <em> at all. </em> “It's Katara.”</p>
<p>He made a grunt of assent.</p>
<p>“So it’s that, I get it now. As I feared, then.” My eyes widened and he sighed. “No sir, it's not right what that woman did to a boy as good as you.”</p>
<p>My chest froze in fear of what he was about to tell me.</p>
<p>"I can't bear you being blind like this."</p>
<p>"What happened, Mr. Wang?" I barely extracted a voice from my throat.</p>
<p>"Young Aang..." He sighed heavily again and rearranged his staff elsewhere on the ground. I fought the urge to shake him into talking once and for all. “She wasn’t the one who vacated the house, in fact two different girls came. One was the white-haired one who lived with you both for a while.”</p>
<p>"Yue," I whispered. Yue had lied to me… she knew more than she had said.</p>
<p>"My wife last saw your wife about three months ago. She arrived in a fancy car that waited for her outside the house.” He frowned in obvious disapproval. “She came out with a suitcase. It was I who saw her when she returned a week later, in the company of a man. She pulled out a larger suitcase and more boxes. We haven't seen her since.”</p>
<p>"A… a man?" My voice came out like a strangled screech.</p>
<p>"Tall with dark hair and fair skin," Mr. Wang agreed. My stomach filled with lead. “With the nastiest scar on his face that I have ever seen.”</p>
<p>The lead froze.</p>
<p>"All over his eye, even his ear. A mobster, I have no doubt.” I barely heard him finish. The weight of lead was dragging me to the bottom of the sea and I was drowning.</p>
<p>I struggled for breath and didn't register when Mr. Wang left, or if he said anything else before leaving.</p>
<p>I felt my relationship with Katara closer to the end than ever before.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok, we are already returning to action. Another thing, Uncle Iroh is one of the most consistent characters that I have come across throughout fanfics. 93% of the time, it's like he's speaking directly from his canon script. Partly, that's why I had some respect for writing him and it took it so long for him and Katara to meet. Also, I don’t like Mr. Wang :)</p>
<p>These past few weeks I came across a few memes contemplating canon!Zuko vs fanon!Zuko, seeing the latter as "too soft" (at least compared to the character we see in the series). Though it could be debatable, yeah, I think I'm guilty of that. Soft :3</p>
<p>Thanks for reading up to this point! (And for your comments :3) And specially to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia for their beta revising :D</p>
<p>Next chapter: visiting the South Pole (and having to face my paralyzing terror of writing Sokka, yee haw).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. The South Pole</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> I was walking hand in hand with my wife, up to the top of a small hill, where we sat on the grass. She was smiling at me, her bright blue eyes fixed on mine. A little further on, Appa was running and barking through the overgrown grass, chasing butterflies. Turning my head, the landscape suddenly revealed a building: the Southern Air Temple, but… different: painted, restored, with a new door decorated with three spirals carved into the wood. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I put a hand over K's belly. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "How is our future air nomad?" We were expecting our first child. The first one that I would raise as Gyatso raised me, in the precepts of my culture. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Something broke above us, as if a crack were opening in the sky, scattering shades of gray instead of the blue it had been a moment before. My wife's gesture immediately turned sour. She avoided my sight, which kept searching her face, panic propelling me. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “There is no future air nomad. I'm not pregnant.” She shook my hand off. “I'm leaving.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "K? K… please, what do you mean?” I implored her as she stood up and lifted a suitcase that I hadn't seen. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "How quickly you forget. You don't have enough money for me to be happy. I’m tired of you…” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> A voice echoed in my mind. It wasn't my wife's, but it was as if she spoke to me: "You called me a liar, you ignored me, you demanded too much of me." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> It was suddenly dusk and the sky turned from gray to orange. Without another word, she turned her back on me and walked to the red figure whose face was in shadow. Now K's smile was directed at him, who stepped forward. The orange light finally illuminated his face to reveal a burn scar all over his left eye. He turned to look at me, with a smile of bloody derision. </em>
</p>
<p><em> "She's </em> my <em> forever girl now," he laughed before kissing her. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I tried to walk up to them, but my feet were pinned to a concrete slab. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "K!" My voice was lost with the wind and she looked back at me, her eyes full of pity, of contempt. She turned and they both advanced. With each step, they descended from the hill where I had been with K. One more step and she would disappear forever, not only from my sight, but from my life. With my scream, the Air Temple collapsed behind me, but I couldn't stop myself. “KATARA!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I woke up, still shouting and bathed in cold sweat.</p>
<p>Appa came closer with a helpless groan and I hugged him. I buried my face in his warm beige and white fur, unable to hold back the tears. That dream —the nightmare, always the same, details more or details less— had started the very night I returned from Chin City. Even when I wasn't sleeping, the images haunted me every time I closed my eyes.</p>
<p>I tried to sleep only when I was exhausted enough not to dream anything, to avoid nightmares as much as possible.</p>
<p>"I didn't tire myself enough yesterday, Appa," I muttered in a broken voice, not letting go.</p>
<p>Along with the winter break, there had come the absence of class hours. And with that, the only reason that forced me to have time perception and some kind of objective. I already had my presentations ready for Art Week in January at Ba Sing Se, and not even the pictures for my book (and some extra copies I made for interested students to practice) could keep my interest.</p>
<p>It was always my wife's face that ended up looking at me from the paper I started working on. Neither paints nor watercolors had the exact shade of her eyes, no matter how much I insisted and searched and mixed and added more colors until the paper was pierced under the amount of pigments.</p>
<p>Yue said that K had gone to a big city. I had no idea what city, where she would live, where she would work, not even the faintest idea of somewhere where I could find her and talk to her.</p>
<p>Or if it was true, that terrible possibility of her living with someone, as Mr. Wang was convinced.</p>
<p>I also knew that at this point in the year, she would be visiting the South Pole, we would go together every year. I wanted to go find her, but there were two things that prevented me: first, I simply had no more money, my savings had evaporated with the trip to Chin City; asking for a loan was beyond my abilities. Second, she might not be there, and spend the New Year with… <em> him. </em>If what Mr. Wang said had been really true, I was sure that she wouldn’t want to appear before her family without me. She wouldn't have the nerve... it simply wasn't like her.</p>
<p>But without more information, I had no way of finding her. I raised my head suddenly, startling Appa. No, I couldn't find her, but I could find her brother...</p>
<p>I jumped up to my table and pulled out paper for a letter. It would be easier to explain everything in writing. And if I hurried, my letter might reach Kyoshi before Sokka left for a visit to the South Pole.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Early in the morning, we took a plane to the closest coastal town to Kyoshi. It was a route to the South Pole that I knew existed, but had only taken once, and in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>Apparently, Uncle Iroh's Association for Dragon Conservation provided all individuals with a diplomatic license as "Ambassadors for Tolerance and Nature Conservation". That had allowed Druk to occupy an airplane seat next to us, although he was more like sitting on top of us, stretched out on both of our laps. He had grown a lot in just a few months.</p>
<p>At the arrival airport, Zuko took care of Druk and our suitcase, and I arranged a taxi to the port. The passenger ship from there to the South Pole was one of the most comfortable ways to get there. Kyoshi's route was the other, and both paths were contemplated by the projects back at Caldera, for future tourists to reach the South Pole when the hotels were finished.</p>
<p>During all that time, I had started talking to Zuko about my family. New details, little hobbies of each of the members... I took advantage of the hours we spent on the ship to prepare him as much as possible for the encounter with my family.</p>
<p>"They'll welcome you, I'm sure," I said, more to convince myself than him.</p>
<p>"Kat, calm down. Everything will be fine.” He caressed my cheek. “I'm with you, that's the important thing.”</p>
<p>"I'm scared," I admitted.<em> I don’t want you to think that it was not worth coming with me, </em>I admitted only to myself.</p>
<p>"Don't be. I…” He stopped mid-sentence and hugged me.</p>
<p>I tried to calm my anxiety, with Zuko's hug and Druk's closeness. What was it that he hadn't finished saying?</p>
<p>A few hours later, we got off the boat with the suitcase. As soon as we stepped outside the passenger cabin, the cold hit in a wave that I breathed in with deep joy. There was no snow yet, though judging by the air, there would be soon.</p>
<p>“Phew!” Zuko shivered when the cold caught up with him. “I didn't know it could feel so cold.”</p>
<p>I laughed at that and Druk's obvious surprise as he stepped onto the frozen ground, but before I could answer him anything, I spotted Grandma in the small crowd waiting for the ship to arrive.</p>
<p>“Gran Gran!” I threw myself to hug her. It was difficult to see her more than once a year and every time I visited her, I was again amazed at how much I had missed her.</p>
<p>"Katara, my big girl." She kissed my cheek before we parted. Meanwhile, Zuko and Druk had arrived at my side. I cleared my throat.</p>
<p>"Gran Gran, this is Zuko." I took the hand with which he was holding on to Druk's leash, hoping it would send the message and I didn't have to say it. Also, if I did say something, I wasn't sure of how I should refer to him. Partner, boyfriend, lover... for some reason, none of those felt right.</p>
<p>"It's an honor to meet you, ma'am." Zuko bowed slightly.</p>
<p>Gran Gran came over to examine him and he tensed. I clutched his hand a little tighter, hoping he understood my support.</p>
<p>"You look familiar to me… Weren't you here at the port many years ago?"</p>
<p>Zuko's eyes widened in terror, trying to articulate an answer. Gran Gran didn't wait that long, a gleam of recognition emerging in her gaze.</p>
<p>"Sure, weren't you the little boy who called me a ‘meddling bag of old bones’?” I almost choked on my own breath when I heard that. Zuko wasn't much better than me.</p>
<p>He brought his palms together in a pleading gesture.</p>
<p>"I… this… I offer you a sincere apology." Zuko was completely red. “I know it is no excuse for my behavior, but in these years I have learned a lot and I understand better the consequences of my actions…”</p>
<p>He seemed to search for more words, frantic, but to our surprise, Gran Gran laughed.</p>
<p>“It's fine, since you apologize so deeply, I forgive you. Don't worry, I'm too old to take children's comments to heart.”</p>
<p>She turned her back on us and started the trip back to the house. A couple of steps behind her, I elbowed Zuko in the ribs.</p>
<p>“<em> Seriously? </em> Did you insult my grandmother on your only visit to the South Pole?” I whispered hastily; he was so red that I was afraid the snow would start to melt around his feet.</p>
<p>"I picked a fight with some boys in the port, and your grandmother arrived and... in the end my uncle dragged me back to the ship," he answered without looking at me. He kept his eyes down and without diminishing the bright red color that his fair skin allowed.</p>
<p>"We have to buy a coat, Gran Gran," I pointed out to my grandmother as we were about to pass the store. Although Zuko was wearing the gray wool coat over a pair of sweaters, that arrangement would not stand up to snow or cold for the duration of our stay. She nodded.</p>
<p>"Okay, let's go." We crossed the street. It was the same shop, a bit ramshackle, that year after year welcomed us when we arrived at the South Pole. In it, we used to buy spare parts for damaged or lost winter equipment: gloves, boots or coats.</p>
<p>We entered the store and Gran Gran sat down while we sorted out the necessary items. Once with a new coat for Zuko, in navy blue, as well as a set of gloves and a hat, I stood by him while he paid. In all that time, he hadn't said a word and risked a glance at me.</p>
<p>"If she forgives you, I have no problem," I whispered before lightly kissing his cheek. “You wouldn't do it again, would you?”</p>
<p>“Of course not, I swear!” He promised vehemently.</p>
<p>"Then we're fine," I agreed, before grinning. “Although I will never let you forget it.”</p>
<p>His shoulders sagged again, and he murmured something I couldn't hear, in a tone of regret. I adjusted his hat and coat before heading back out into the cold.</p>
<p>We took a taxi for the rest of the journey, which passed in relative silence. Most of the talk was about Gran Gran telling us about the increase in people in the ports, and that she had already made an appointment with the people who worked furs near the Shipwreck.</p>
<p>The house hadn't changed from the year before or before that. The same windows with light blue curtains, dark walls, and brown tiles on a hipped roof.</p>
<p>Gran Gran opened the door for us and I lingered for a few minutes explaining to Zuko the procedure of leaving boots and coats at the entrance. I tried not to let him notice anything unusual in my tone when I assigned him the coat rack that used to be Aang's.</p>
<p>"Come on, our room is upstairs." I took his hand and Druk followed us with a cheerful gait, indifferent to my nerves. “Welcome.”</p>
<p>I felt a bit vulnerable showing him that room. Somehow even more than when I was naked in front of him. It felt much more intimate to show him my pictures of school and the stuffed tiger seal that I had slept with all my childhood.</p>
<p>"We'll be a little tight, I hope you don't mind," I tried not to look at him as he settled the suitcase on a nearby chair. My bed was still single, even after all those years. There was always something more urgent, and I had never changed it. “But we have our own bathroom.”</p>
<p>One of my worst memories from when I first moved in with Sokka was sharing a bathroom with him. With Aang, things had improved a bit (though not much).</p>
<p>"No problem." His hug surprised me. As we parted, we looked out the window, which from my room overlooked the patio. “I understand now why you like to come.”</p>
<p>"And you haven't seen anything yet." Snow was forecast that week, and the scenery would be postcard-worthy.</p>
<p>When we went downstairs, Gran Gran was waiting for us in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove.</p>
<p>"Perfect timing, I'm making dinner” judging by the aroma, it would be sea prunes, and I sighed in satisfaction. “Young man, can you go get bread? Sesame buns, at the bakery two blocks from here. It’s pretty notorious.”</p>
<p>"Of course, ma'am," Zuko answered immediately, going to grab his coat.</p>
<p>"I'm going with you," I offered immediately, receiving a heavy look from my grandmother.</p>
<p>"I was counting on your help to finish preparing the food," she asked, managing to stop me.</p>
<p>"Um…" I hesitated for a moment. Gran Gran approached Zuko.</p>
<p>"Remember, the sesame ones," she repeated cheekily. I looked at him with a bit of anguish, alternating between him and Gran Gran.</p>
<p>"Are you sure you can go alone?" I bit my lip. “You don't know around here and you don't know what the best buns are…”</p>
<p>"Kat, I was a waiter at a tea shop. I think I can tell good buns from bad. If I get lost, I can always ask.” He smiled at me and glanced at my grandmother. We had both realized that she wanted to talk to me.</p>
<p>"Ring the bell when you get back," Gran Gran instructed a second before he left. Druk, on the other hand, was too comfortable by the fireplace for anything to convince him to leave the room.</p>
<p>Tense moments of silence passed.</p>
<p>"Gran Gran..." I began, unsure. She didn't answer and gave me an inscrutable look. “I disappointed you, didn't I?”</p>
<p>I lowered my eyes. At least she hadn't taken it out on Zuko for my actions...</p>
<p>"Katara, my little one." She reached over to hug me, which took me by surprise. “I may have seen Aang grow up with you, and love him as an honorary grandson. But nothing changes the fact that you are my granddaughter, capable of making her own decisions that I have to respect and support unconditionally. Did I get upset when you got married?”</p>
<p>Flushed, I shook my head.</p>
<p>"You greeted me with a hug when we got back." That time I had been even more terrified than now to see her again.</p>
<p>“Exactly. I was afraid that you would discover that it was not what you had thought, when you married so young, but I have never been disappointed.” She took me by the shoulders and fixed her gaze on me. “He treats you well?”</p>
<p>"Yes." My blush deepened. “More than that.”</p>
<p>"Then that's fine with me," she stated simply, closing the matter without asking any other details.</p>
<p>She returned her attention to the food on the fire and asked for some of the spices. After seasoning, we sat at the dining room table, without taking our eyes off the pot.</p>
<p>"Your father can get a little grumpy," she admitted after thinking a bit. “You have my full support, and if my son gives you problems, tell me.”</p>
<p>The doorbell rang and I went to open it for Zuko, with a huge smile. Gran Gran was on our side. With her and Suki, my brother had no hope of resisting.</p>
<p>We dined in a much more relaxed atmosphere than during the trip from the port, now that he also knew that Gran Gran was fine with the change.</p>
<p>"Thanks for dinner, ma'am," Zuko finally commented, after finishing his sea plums with the help of generous servings of bread. I chuckled, Aang didn't like them either. They were a bit of an acquired taste.</p>
<p>"You can tell me Gran Gran, I prefer it that way." She smiled at him. “Come on, go to sleep. The others will arrive tomorrow and there will be no more calm in this house.”</p>
<p>We slept huddled in a tight knot on my old bed. It was not very different from how we slept at home, and I woke up in high spirits.</p>
<p>That morning there wasn't much movement other than breakfast. As much as Zuko insisted his cooking skills were no match for his uncle's, Gran Gran was delighted and adopted him as a helper right away. Around noon, she left in the direction of the port. I wanted to go too, but since Sokka, Suki and Dad would bring a car, we would not all fit for the return.</p>
<p>The moment of the introductions reached a tension that could be cut. Sokka and Dad's gestures and postures of disagreement were identical and icy. Suki, on the other hand, tried her best to lighten the mood and keep a conversation with Zuko going, in which I would intervene from time to time. There was a deathly silence from Dad, during which he did not take his eyes off us. Although he could not maintain his serious expression and outlined a slight smile when Druk approached to sniff him, in addition to caressing the reddish mane of the dragon.</p>
<p>Not long after, Gran Gran called us back to the dining room, where Zuko settled between me and Suki. I thanked my sister-in-law with a smile.</p>
<p>He could detect the suspicious and almost accusing looks from Dad and Sokka. Across the table, I shook Zuko's hand a little more forcefully, doing my best to convey my full support and thanks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Please, I don't want you to regret coming with me. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Tell me, <em> Zuko </em>, what’s your job?" Sokka accompanied his first words to Zuko with a sharp smile. Not properly hostile, but not friendly either...</p>
<p>"Humm…" Zuko turned to see me. Gran Gran hadn't asked that yet. It was a mistake from me, not to have prepared a good answer earlier.</p>
<p>"He's a businessman," I interjected with a warning look directed at my brother.</p>
<p>“Of what?” Sokka replied. He had even set aside his food.</p>
<p>"Before they were textile factories, now we focus more on electronics." Zuko spoke very quickly and then took a sip of water. I breathed in relief. I would explain the part of Fire Corp. to everyone more calmly later. Maybe next year or something like that.</p>
<p>"And do you have business around here? I would be very surprised to find an honest businessman.” My brother narrowed his eyes.</p>
<p>"Sokka!" Suki chimed in with a slightly forced, warning smile. “Do you want more bread?”</p>
<p>“What? I'm curious.” Sokka didn't take the hint and ignored the mention of food. It was serious.</p>
<p>"There is always room for improvement, but I try to maintain an honorable business policy," Zuko replied flatly. Sokka stared at him, and Zuko endured the scrutiny without looking down.</p>
<p>Gran Gran cleared her throat, effectively ending the staring contest.</p>
<p>"As I already mentioned to all of you, I have an announcement to make."</p>
<p>"Come on Gran Gran, you want to kill us with suspense," Sokka complained as he helped himself to another generous amount of soup, as if his anger from a moment before had never occurred.</p>
<p>“Yes, what is it about?” Suki smiled. I took the moment to compose myself a little.</p>
<p>"I'm getting married in six months," Gran Gran announced solemnly, contrasting with the way her eyes lit up.</p>
<p>“Mother! Really?” My father rose to his feet, with a look of condensed surprise that nearly dropped his jaw to the floor. “Nobody here ever tells me anything!”</p>
<p>However, the huge smile on his face betrayed the seriousness of the complaint.</p>
<p>"Gran Gran, congratulations!" I regained the movement of my limbs and went to her to hug her. “Who is he? When are we going to meet him?”</p>
<p>"His name is Pakku and I hadn’t seen him in over forty years when I ran into him last year. He was my boyfriend when we were young.” The smile further accentuated the lines around her eyes. “I'll invite him to dinner one of these days.”</p>
<p>"Congratulations, ma’a… Gran Gran." Zuko stumbled a bit at the words. His congratulations were well received anyway, and the atmosphere immediately turned to celebration, tensions pushed aside.</p>
<p>Later, before we all went to sleep, I found Gran Gran looking at me. I thanked her silently and she smiled softly. Her strategy of overshadowing with her own news all the discomfort left by my sentimental decisions had left an atmosphere more similar to that of every year...</p>
<p>Two days later, my grandmother's fiancé visited. He turned out to be a bald man with a long white mustache who looked perfectly at ease with the weather. He eyed Zuko and Druk suspiciously, but made an effort to be cordial.</p>
<p>In spite of everything, it was obvious that for any matter he preferred to talk to my brother than to me. Even with Zuko, despite her obvious mistrust of him. By the third time he ignored me when I spoke to him, I was on the verge of exploding. But before I could give him a piece of my mind, Gran Gran arrived and took him away.</p>
<p>I glared at Pakku when his back was turned. I would put up with it for Gran Gran, as long as he didn't get any more rude... Sokka, who had apparently seen everything from a distance, winked at me before running up to catch up with Pakku and start peppering him with nagging questions.</p>
<p>"Since you will be family, can I call you Gran Pakku?" He did not stop insisting, much to the man's annoyance. I smiled as Zuko shook my hand.</p>
<p>Another week passed like meltwater. I showed Zuko all the surroundings, sometimes accompanied by my brother and Suki, sometimes just Suki. He went with me to the tailoring appointment for my new parka and I took the opportunity to show him the famous Shipwreck, an ancient ship skeleton frozen in the permafrost, quite far from the coast.</p>
<p>In the evenings (which looked more like late afternoons, because it was getting dark early), we visited the fair. It was the family tradition to spend New Year's Eve there, preferably arriving early.</p>
<p>Almost the entire population celebrated that night at the fair. That afternoon, I could barely take a couple of steps without some acquaintance stopping me with a greeting and varying looks and reactions directed at Zuko and our joined hands. Some people offered sincere congratulations, others extended only a tight smile and soon cut off the conversation. I did my best so that it didn't affect me.</p>
<p>At a skill play stall, Zuko won an otter-penguin stuffed toy for me. It was so big that I couldn't quite encircle it with just one arm.</p>
<p>"I hope Druk doesn't think it’s a toy for him," I said as I hugged my new gift. “I'll take it back home.”</p>
<p>"You'll have to keep an eye on him for a few days, but after that, he'll understand that he shouldn't touch it," he replied with a smile, though his eyes had drifted to one of the stalls behind me. I turned around, searching for what had caught his attention.</p>
<p>The stall sold little trinkets and cheap toys, and I had to look more closely. Could it have been the toy swords? The disposable cameras? He was no longer looking and I decided to trust my instincts.</p>
<p>"Give me one," I asked the salesman and paid, under Zuko's stunned gaze. “Come on, we need a photo under the ice arch.”</p>
<p>The arch marked the entrance to the square in winter and was a popular photographic spot. After asking an old classmate I found nearby to take some pictures of us, I realized the time and started looking for the rest of my family. We usually reunited again  around midnight on the New Year.</p>
<p>Suki beckoned to me from across the esplanade just as the first of the twelve City Hall bells rang out. Well, I had found them in time. Instead of running, I stopped, trying to remember the direction I'd seen Suki.</p>
<p>“Happy New Year!” I exclaimed. Zuko looked at me in amazement and I wrapped my arms around his neck before kissing him. The fur trim of his hood tickled my face, but he answered the kiss quite willingly.</p>
<p>"Happy New Year," he whispered back to me when we parted, while the last bell’s ring dissolved into the cold night.</p>
<p>While they were setting off some fireworks (all of them blue, it was our national color), we returned with the others. Zuko didn’t stop looking at me tenderly, with his golden eyes that stood out like embers between his coat.</p>
<p>We return to the house, exhausted and flushed from the cold (maybe not only because of that). We slept well into the morning, even Zuko, who prided himself on waking up in the sun.</p>
<p>Our stay there was nearing its end and there was fresh snow. The decision was simple, really. We prepared the sled with the intention of heading to the nearest hill.</p>
<p>"Can't you bring anyone with a normal pet? A cat-ferret or something?” Sokka complained the third time Druk bit his boot when Sokka's foot was still inside. “I know I'm delicious, but I wish I had my boots without holes to go out in the snow.”</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," I smiled without feeling it in the least, and pulled Druk away from Sokka's boots.</p>
<p>The sled wasn't big enough to fit all of us, so we took turns going downhill.</p>
<p>"Hold on!" I yelled at Zuko when it was our turn. He settled behind me and Suki pushed us. I screamed as we sped down and ended (too soon) half buried in a snow bank. “Are you still in one piece?”</p>
<p>“Yup! It was excellent!” He laughed and pulled me close to his chest, filling all my clothes with little snowflakes. “When is it our turn again?”</p>
<p>He helped me to my feet and I felt a slight echo of sadness. Aang was a sledding enthusiast. I pushed it out of my mind and smiled at Zuko. I was expected to feel sad about my old relationship, but I wouldn't let it ruin my vacation.</p>
<p>Several hours later, we returned home exhausted. Gran Gran just watched us, amused, as we eased the pain in our exerted muscles with the heat of the fire.</p>
<p>With the new dawn, the end of my little vacation came too soon. For that last full day together, Dad suggested going fishing in the lake, which was already frozen. Aang had never joined one of our expeditions and never had the fishing gear, but we improvised one for Zuko with everyone's spare parts and headed to the lake.</p>
<p>Dad was the one who cut the holes in the ice and I showed Zuko the basics of what he needed to do. He learned quickly and soon had his first fish. In the process he fell on the ice twice, but by the end of the day he had as many fish as Sokka, whom I looked over with an air of superiority.</p>
<p>"It doesn't count because you're helping him!" He declared as he crossed his arms and Dad patted him on the back.</p>
<p>"It's banquet night," Dad calmed him down; he was the one who had fished more than the rest of us. Back in the house, together we prepared the fish to cook it. We sat down to dinner as soon as they came out of the oven and we all ate our fill. There would still be some left for Gran Gran and even Pakku could eat from that catch. I hoped with all my heart that it would upset his stomach.</p>
<p>Between the abundant food and the impending goodbye, we were all reluctant to go to sleep. The conversation continued around the fireplace until late at night, while Sokka produced a bottle of cactus juice and handed out drinks for everyone.</p>
<p>"Young men, my old bones can't stand the late nights anymore. Have a good rest.” With slightly stiff movements, Gran Gran rose to her feet and we watched her disappear into the hallway that led to her room.</p>
<p>It didn't take long for Dad to leave as well. For the first time I noticed that the lines around his eyes looked deeper than I remembered. He hugged me and then Sokka. He looked so tired that he even forgot to give Zuko a hostile look.</p>
<p>"Try not to break anything, kids," he yawned and also went into his room, opposite to Gran Gran's, where he slept so few nights a year.</p>
<p>The four of us were left in a slight silence.</p>
<p>"Come join me for a drink here on the patio." Sokka put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, who looked at him with some surprise.</p>
<p>"Why do you want to go out to the patio at this hour?" I protested, just a little defensively. “We are perfectly fine here.”</p>
<p>"This is a man-to-man conversation." Sokka looked at me with an obstinacy that rivaled my own.</p>
<p>"Oh, so it's some kind of male code or something?" I asked, crossing my arms.</p>
<p>"Easy, I won't do anything to him if he gives the right answers." Sokka put an arm around Zuko's shoulders. “It’s going to  be just a friendly little chat.”</p>
<p>"Come on, don't worry," Suki took my arm before I could object. It was Zuko's smile, which seemed to say ‘go, I'll be fine’, which finally convinced me not to continue the protests. “I'll prepare some hot chocolate.”</p>
<p>Before I followed her into the kitchen, I watched them through the window. They sat on the logs that served as chairs, and the interaction seemed civilized. I sighed deeply.</p>
<p>"It turned out better than I feared," Suki sighed next to me. “He’s trying really hard.”</p>
<p>"Yes," and I thanked him. I thanked him with all my soul that he had faced my family with such determination...</p>
<p>"It's a good sign." She put milk to the heat of the stove for the chocolate. “Do you already know what you are going to do? Regarding Aang, I mean. Zuko is completely willing to stay.”</p>
<p>I found the jar of chocolate powder and handed it to her. The milk seemed about to boil.</p>
<p>"I want to make the separation official." It was difficult to say, but when the words were between us, I felt lighter. I found a smile on Suki's face that I didn't expect.</p>
<p>"I'll be here to support you in everything you need."</p>
<p>"Doesn't it bother you one bit that I'm getting divorced? Aang is your friend too,” I suggested, a bit desperate without understanding why.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but he's not my husband, I have no idea what it's like to be married to him." She frowned slightly before smiling again softly. “And it's your decision, yours alone.”</p>
<p>The milk boiled and the foam began to spill onto the stove. We took a moment to clean up the mess and put the chocolate before turning the heat down.</p>
<p>"Do you really think that I’m doing the right thing? What is even the right thing?” I bit my lip, feeling lost.</p>
<p>"Right is what's best for you." Suki put a hand on my shoulder. What is done is done and you can no longer change it. Don't hurt Aang unnecessarily, but don't give up what you want to save him pain.”</p>
<p>I nodded thoughtfully. As much as I wanted to avoid the situation, deep down there was only one possibility.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>We left the house and the first steps were like entering a jelly. The chill in the air felt almost solid.</p>
<p>Without my really understanding why, Sokka ran to the mailbox, where the sign that indicated the presence of mail was raised. He took out an envelope from there, and raised his eyebrows as he read.</p>
<p>"Huh, it's for you." He handed me the envelope. I scanned the letters. A telegram, which could only have come from Ty Lee, to whom I had given the address in case of an emergency. It must have been a couple of days since she had contacted me, there was no mail on holidays.</p>
<p>"Thank you ..." I put it in my pocket. Whatever it was, it could wait one more night if it had already waited two days. Although I would probably open it as soon as this "friendly conversation" was over.</p>
<p>"This New Year's Eve we had warm weather." Sokka stretched nonchalantly. In my opinion, it was as cold as the days before, and I felt like I would freeze if I raised my arms like he did.</p>
<p>I wrapped my coat around me a little tighter and adjusted the hat to cover my ears before sitting on the log next to where Sokka had settled. From somewhere behind another of the seats, he pulled out two bottles and gestured for my glass. I handed it to him and he proceeded to fill it with a mixture of cactus juice and soda before going to his own glass.</p>
<p>I took a sip. Would the liquid in the center of the glass start to freeze soon? I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Sokka didn't break the silence for several more minutes either. Since he was the one who wanted to talk to me, I decided to wait.</p>
<p>"There's something weird about how the two of you met, something Suki doesn't want to talk to me about" were his first words and immediately all my attention went straight to him. I wanted to make the best possible impression, and although Kat claimed I was doing well, I didn't want to ruin it. “In fact I don’t mind it, my sister needs her privacy, I don't want all the details. Although I can't say that I wasn't worried when Suki told me you were coming.”</p>
<p>I still didn't know how to intervene and kept waiting as Sokka gazed into the distance in a long pause. We were closer to sunrise than sunset, although that wasn't unusual considering how early it got dark this far south.</p>
<p>“It took my sister seven years to start a serious relationship with Aang and I still have no idea why she separated from him so suddenly. It brings you to the family reunion just a few months after meeting you.”</p>
<p>I judged it wiser to say nothing.</p>
<p>"So I've been watching you these days, to try to see what she found." I took a sip from my drink, just to do something with my hands. I was about to break out in a sweat despite all the cold. “I calmed down somehow, you know.”</p>
<p>If the glass hadn't been ceramic, I would’ve accidentally crushed it in surprise.</p>
<p>“Seriously? I mean… did you take a good look?” Even <em> I </em>doubted I was her best option.</p>
<p>“Yes. Sometimes it seemed like Aang was too childish for her. As they were not in the same line, I dunno if I’m explaining myself. I couldn't say what it is if you ask me.” He scratched his head above the blue winter hat embroidered with a wolf. “He’s almost like another brother to me, and yet, I realized that.”</p>
<p>I tried to hide my discomfort at the mention of Aang. That was a topic that Kat and I kept pirouetting around to avoid.</p>
<p>"Honestly, I don't think you're a rebound relationship after whatever happened between them," Sokka finished and I exhaled slowly. That surely was a hallucination. No one could think so highly of me.</p>
<p>"I wouldn't mind even if it were like that," I muttered under my breath. He didn't hear me.</p>
<p>"I’ll probably hate myself tomorrow for telling you this." He poured more cactus juice into his glass. I was hanging on every word, on the edge of my log seat. “Whatever you're doing, keep it up. I've never seen my sister with that sparkle in her eyes before.”</p>
<p>His words hit me like a train. <em> That </em> was what I least expected to hear, even less than his veiled acceptance from before.</p>
<p>“Thank you?” Was all I could say.</p>
<p>“Not so fast. Before, I have a question for you.” He fixed his eyes on mine. They were the same color as Kat's, although they had a slightly different shape than the one she shared with her father. It must be like their mother's. “Do you plan to stay with her?”</p>
<p>I took a moment to make sure my words came out clearly. This was an important answer.</p>
<p>"Yes, for as long as she wants me to stay —and in the way she wants me to stay." That was decided before I invited her to Ba Sing Se.</p>
<p>Sokka nodded, apparently satisfied.</p>
<p>"Normally, this is the part where I would threaten you if you hurt her, but I'm not going to bother. She can kick your ass without my help.” He shrugged. “And that’s without counting Suki.”</p>
<p>“And your father?” I couldn't help the question. I still felt that he was the most reticent about my presence there.</p>
<p>"Give him a little more time. He was so far away during our entire childhood that sometimes it’s hard for him to see that we’re all grown up. To him, Aang was not my sister's partner, but more like her schoolmate or something.”</p>
<p>"I see..." I agreed without committing too much. But Sokka had already moved on to something else.</p>
<p>"The nights of such pure moonlight make me nostalgic. They remind me of my first girlfriend.” He took another swig of his glass, looking up at the sky. “She was like the moon. Distant, impossible to reach even for an engineer.”</p>
<p>"That's rough, buddy," I cleared my throat.</p>
<p>She had the most beautiful cascade of blonde hair, so light it looked white, and so bright it seemed to shine with inner light…" He stared at the crescent moon, oblivious to his surroundings.</p>
<p>"Is her name Yue by any chance?" I raised an eyebrow. The alcohol took part of the filter out of my words, and another part was gone as I felt more confident with Sokka.</p>
<p>His eyebrows reached to the edge of his hat.</p>
<p>“How do you know? Are you a Seer?”</p>
<p>I laughed.</p>
<p>"No, I met her in Chin City. She’s friends with Katara.”</p>
<p>Still, he didn't stop watching me with some caution, but finally got up and peeked through the window. It had been longer than I thought (and longer than I thought I could endure outside in this weather).</p>
<p>"Look, it seems the ladies have already retired to bed. That’s my signal. Good night, buddy.”</p>
<p>I watched him enter the house, but didn’t immediately follow. Instead, I sat alone for a few more minutes, dumbfounded. Apparently, he didn’t think bad of me. It was an almost absurd notion, but it was the only conclusion I could draw from his words.</p>
<p>The cold soon pushed me back into the house and I closed the door behind me. At that point it was almost a reflex to take off my coat and boots, and leave them on the coat rack and the tray at the entrance. I went upstairs, more drunk with joy than cactus juice, and opened the door to Kat's room.</p>
<p>She was asleep, with the lamp on. Spreaded over her chest was the study guide that she stubbornly brought on the trip (and had barely opened once). I smiled, unable to contain myself. I would give my life to see her happy.</p>
<p>Carefully, I removed the book and turned off the bedside lamp. I lay down on the bed next to her, hugged her, and she instinctively snuggled against me. Being here with her, in the present, was even better than anything I had ever dreamed of.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is so late to New Year, originally it was meant to concur with that but… accidental chapters happened. It’s the closest thing to a "Christmas" episode I'm going to write (and I think I overdid it a bit, it was really long xD).</p>
<p>On news from our sponsor (me), I signed up for a Zutara Big Bang :D I was new to the term, but it’s basically an event where writers work along with betas and artists to produce a story accompanied by art! I can’t say much about my project yet, but the first chapter should be up by June!!!! I’m positively jumping all around the place ashfjsdfh</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for reading and/or commenting (there were some really accurate predictions in the comments this past week :0) and especially to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia for their edition! Really, they are awesome :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Cactus Juice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as we were back at Ba Sing Se's house, I went straight to sleep for a bit, still resenting the sleepless night of the day before and the fatigue of the trip. However, Zuko immediately made his way to his office.</p>
<p>I woke up with a yawn a couple of hours later, and he was still in his study. The door was open and I peeked inside.</p>
<p>"Knock, knock," I made a pretense of knocking on the door before entering. He was putting in his briefcase the envelope that had arrived at the South Pole house.</p>
<p>"Good morning Kat." He looked up at me with a slightly awkward smile.</p>
<p>"What was the letter about?" I walked over to his desk. “It must’ve been very urgent for them to send it all the way to the South Pole.”</p>
<p>"Er… I'll have to visit Gaolin. I don't see why Ty Lee sent it so urgently, it's just a notice about the shareholders’s meeting being held there later this month.” He shrugged and put the letter away. “I'll be away for a few days in some weeks.”</p>
<p>He sighed.</p>
<p>"And I'm afraid I'll have to go to the office today. Someone is faxing some urgent documents.”</p>
<p>I leaned in to kiss his cheek.</p>
<p>"Thanks for taking the days to go with me." He stood up and held me for a fit kiss. “I'll wait for you for dinner, okay?”</p>
<p>"I'll be here early," he promised before putting several more papers in his briefcase and hurrying out of the study.</p>
<p>I made my way to my own table, where two weeks earlier I had suspended all study attempts for exams. The study guide that I took for vacations (and that I had barely touched those days) was still in my suitcase, and I went to get it from our room. I had just settled down at the desk and was trying to remember what topic had been the last one I reviewed when the phone rang. With a grunt, I got to my feet to answer.</p>
<p>“Hello?” I said, unable to hide some annoyance.</p>
<p>"Katara?" Suki's voice answered on the other end of the line.</p>
<p>"I swear I just saw you the day before yesterday," I joked. “I didn't think you’d miss me so soon.”</p>
<p>"Yesterday… there was a problem yesterday when we got to Kyoshi" she deliberately ignored my attempt at humor and her tone was serious. I was immediately concerned. “Aang wrote to Sokka. The letter was waiting for us when we returned from the South Pole.”</p>
<p>My breath stopped for a moment.</p>
<p>"What did he write?" I held the phone tighter.</p>
<p>"About what happened between you two. And asking where you are and how he can contact you.”</p>
<p>I laughed, not out of joy but out of bitterness.</p>
<p>"A little late for that." Where had been this will to look for me when I was in Chin City? Or when I was still calling Yue, waiting for news? A simple note would have made so much difference in our story. Suki sighed.</p>
<p>"That wasn't the only thing he wrote in that letter." She seemed exhausted. “Sokka was furious, he didn't even finish reading it. I did read it in full later.”</p>
<p>"What exactly did the letter say, then?" I dug my nails into the palm of my hand. There were a lot of details that I preferred Sokka not to know.</p>
<p>"He read the million yuan part and up to when Aang accepted that he left your house. At that moment he became livid. I've never seen him so angry,” she continued hurriedly. “He started yelling things about Aang abandoning you, that he wouldn't be a brother to him after that, and other things about Aang ‘turning his back on the family’...”</p>
<p>"It's the custom at the South Pole," I half explained, suddenly overwhelmed with the anguish and shame that now Sokka knew everything. “It’s a big deal, to leave a house.”</p>
<p>"I understood that from listening to Sokka," Suki snorted. “And a lot of details did not match what happened. Aang wrote that Zuko proposed the deal and threatened them. You ‘sacrificed’ yourself to save them both and get the money. Then Zuko deliberately bought the Air Temple to blackmail you both and you, I quote: ‘were confused’.”</p>
<p>"I can't believe it." My stomach churned. Was Aang really capable of lying so blatantly? Or was this in fact how he saw the situation?</p>
<p>"Sokka asked me to tell you about it and check on you. I was going to call you anyway, to ask you if I can tell him what really happened, what you told me.” Upon hearing that, I closed my eyes. After a second of silence, Suki spoke again. “If you don't want to, that's fine, but it makes me so mad that he tells things like that!”</p>
<p>"I suppose it's worse if Sokka is left only with what the letter says." If he already knew the worst part, he better have my version. When I decided not to say anything to my family, I did so in part not to talk about the Omashu episode. It was better for Aang because I wouldn't say anything about how he had left… and everything that I had done almost immediately, but if he had revealed it already, there was no point in hiding it any longer.</p>
<p>"He complained to me for not telling him after the time I visited you," she admitted. “Not about Omashu, but about Aang being gone. Sokka was convinced that you were the one who left Aang. That's why he was so hostile at first, he said he owed Zuko an apology.”</p>
<p>"Thanks for not saying anything." The caution turned out to be in vain, but Suki's support had been invaluable.</p>
<p>"Sokka also had a question. He wants to know if he can tell the rest of the family the truth about…” She hinted at the whole situation. “He doesn't want to tell it without your consent. He was very upset that Aang did that.”</p>
<p>"No… not yet." I sank into a nearby chair. “I'm just going to tell Gran Gran not to give Aang my address if he contacts her…”</p>
<p>"I can take care of that," Suki offered and I sighed, relieved.</p>
<p>"Thank you." All I wanted was not to think about the entire mess. “For telling Gran Gran and for letting me know. For everything, in fact.”</p>
<p>"Don't worry." She sounded calmer, too. “Until later.”</p>
<p>"Goodbye," I finally hung up and immediately exited the study. There was no way I could focus after this.</p>
<p>Instead, I went downstairs to entertain myself in the kitchen, to make dinner. The only way to end this matter was to take more direct action.</p>
<p>And that was exactly what I was going to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>On the other side of my office, the fax was still printing. I was grateful for the excuse those documents had given me to go to the office, because for the first time, I had deliberately kept something from Kat. Yes, I would have to go to Gaolin and yes, at the end of the month there would be a meeting of shareholders and directors with the Beifong Bank. But on that same visit I’d also see Jun, who had summoned me to tell me the progress of the investigation on my mother.</p>
<p>In the telegram, Jun said that the information she would give me could not be properly conveyed in writing, and that she would have more information in a couple of weeks. That meant she had found something. Something big.</p>
<p>She had given no further information and my treacherous mind oscilled anxiously between anticipation and anguish. It could be confirmation of my worst fears, but knowing that my mother had died would give a feeling of closure. Instead, finding her alive… the possibility was<em> there, </em> and it terrified me as much as I yearned for it.</p>
<p>Working late on the work delayed by the holidays with Kat allowed me to calm down to some degree. A couple of hours later, once I was sure I could feign some semblance of calm, I returned to the house. I found Kat in front of the stove, on the verge of tears and struggling with the burned contents of a pot.</p>
<p>"Come on, we can dine outside tonight," I suggested softly as she seemed about to throw the pot against the wall.</p>
<p>We ended up going to the closest restaurant. During dinner, she was unusually quiet and crestfallen, but she didn't want to say anything when I asked her if everything was okay.</p>
<p>Although I kept waiting for her to come over to tell me what was bothering her, for the next two weeks she was strangely silent. There were times when she behaved as usual, like the first week at Ba Sing Se, but at other times she was distracted, her gaze absent from time to time in the hours we spent together in the afternoons. Either way, I didn't draw attention to that because I wasn't in the best of shapes myself.</p>
<p>It hurt to pretend that everything was normal. I was terrified that she was drifting away. That she, somehow, was pondering whether being with me was disappointing her and she no longer wanted to stay. But, with my own secrets to which I spent several hours of anguish, I was unable to attempt a more sincere talk with her.</p>
<p>Several times in those days I debated whether to tell Kat about all this. But how to bring it up? “Hey Kat, do you remember my missing and almost certainly dead mother? Well, I have never stopped looking and hired another private investigator, who wrote to me at the South Pole to tell me that she will have important information at the end of the month." No, it didn't seem like a good introduction, especially when she seemed so distant.</p>
<p>Still, it was a worse idea to hide things from her. I sighed over the monthly reports that I hadn't been able to review with the attention that I always did. Whatever happened, I was going to tell her everything the night before I’d leave on a trip.</p>
<p>I’d tell her the next day.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks to the restart of classes, the first weeks of January went by quickly and with fewer nightmares. Although there was no response from Sokka. I decided to send him another letter, in case the first had been lost in the mail office. It was the only explanation, responses by mail usually took about two weeks at the most.</p>
<p>By the end of the month, there was still no response from Sokka and the University gave me my plane tickets to Ba Sing Se, and a “Speaker” badge for Art Week.</p>
<p>There was someone to receive me at Ba Sing Se, and he installed me in the hotel and then took me to the venue of the event, a convention center. During the Art Week, I gave three lectures on the art of air nomads, showed a good part of my prints and even received several offers to give other lectures and sell pieces. My notes for all those commitments fell into chaos, I usually never had more than one project active simultaneously. I just hoped I wouldn’t lose anything.</p>
<p>Finally, that morning had been the last session and I was free until the next day, when my plane would leave for Omashu. I knew exactly what I’d spend my afternoon off on.</p>
<p>Almost as soon as I arrived in Ba Sing Se, I learned that the Fire Corp. had an important office in that city. They were sponsors of Art Week and I suffered every time I saw their logo of a small red flame on the panels and tarps. During those days, I decided something: at the end of my week in the city, after completing the lectures I was supposed to give, I would go to that building.</p>
<p>I didn't stop to think about the possibility that the man, Zuko, might not be there, or that my chance of finding him at the entrance was small. Seeing him and being able to yell at his face three or four things I needed to say to him were all I could think of.</p>
<p>I passed a convenience store on my way to the building. Along with something to eat, I grabbed a small bottle of cactus juice that I kept in my pocket as I finished my impromptu meal.</p>
<p>The building towered several dozen stories into the sky and reflected the clouds that covered the sun. For a moment I considered going in and looking for his office, but it seemed like a bad idea. It would be difficult for me to convince them to let me in to see him without good reason.</p>
<p>Instead of entering through the glass doors, I settled next to a column, out of sight of the watchman inside the building. From there, I could see people coming and going, most of them in suits. There was a constant traffic of cars picking up or dropping off people, and those I also surveyed.</p>
<p>The scant sunlight through the clouds gradually evaporated, descending to a gray that foreshadowed rain. The color reminded me of the sky in my nightmares. I looked away and finally decided to take a sip from the bottle of cactus juice.</p>
<p>The drink left a feeling of warmth that came in handy, especially when the first drops of rain began to fall, when I had another drink, followed by another when the street lamps started illuminating the street.</p>
<p>I knew I should stop and put the bottle of cactus juice back in my pocket. Considering my low tolerance for alcohol, I would soon be reeling. But I couldn't help it, each drink was a coup of courage that was extinguished as soon as the liquid finished going down my throat. And when it disappeared, it left me thirsty for more.</p>
<p>My vigilance was maintained despite the heavy curtain of rain that occasionally swayed before my eyes. Since quite a while before, the people had dwindled, so I immediately noticed the car pulling up in the bay. Two people got out of it. I heard laughter over the patter of rain on the ground. A singing sound that I would recognize anywhere... the laugh of <em> my </em> K.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was with Zuko.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The day before Zuko left for Gaolin, he decided to take the afternoon off. We spent a couple of hours in one of the gardens in the center, where there was also a pond for turtle ducks. I was still amazed at how easy it was to be with him… with a small smile, I was even more sure of my decision and happy with the part I had already done.</p>
<p>“Oh!” I was as startled as the turtle-ducks when a huge white sheep-dog came running up and barking.</p>
<p>Zuko shooed him away and the owner apologized, but it took me a while to catch my breath. For a moment I had thought that the sheep-dog had been Appa...</p>
<p>We were about to return to the house when another of the Fire Corp. drivers arrived with an urgent message from Ty Lee, asking Zuko to go to the building to sign some papers, on behalf of the government. It was the last thing before Bujing was incarcerated.</p>
<p>"I'll take you there, sir," the driver finished.</p>
<p>"I can catch up with you at the house, it'll be quick…" Zuko started, but I was already getting in the car too. I planned to take advantage of the time with him before he went on a trip.</p>
<p>We had barely closed the door when the first thunder boomed, heralding the intensity of the approaching storm. The rest of the people in the park hurried their way to the exit.</p>
<p>"It started raining hours ago in other parts of the city," the driver commented when we stopped at a traffic light and everyone was already carrying an umbrella. “It’s early for the rainy season to start.”</p>
<p>Outside, it already seemed close to dusk, or maybe it was just because it was so cloudy. Beside me, Zuko cleared his throat.</p>
<p>"There is something I would like to talk to you about. Once we’re back in the house, if that's okay.” His fingers kept moving over the cuffs of his shirt, fiddling with the cufflinks and buttons of the jacket.</p>
<p>"Sure." A shiver of excitement settled in my stomach. Although I had no idea what it might be, it must be something important. And a corner of my mind got excited thinking about <em> a more formal, more permanent relationship, maybe giving our relationship a name... </em></p>
<p>I tried to calm myself. That couldn’t be it, after all, I would give him the news about the beginning of the divorce until his return from Gaolin. And asking me anything before that made little sense.</p>
<p>“You know what? You’re behaving like my grandmother, building anticipation to deliver her news.” I leaned against his shoulder. I was beginning to get to know the city and we were about to reach the building.</p>
<p>"I aspire to that level of drama." He rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Judging from what your uncle says, drama is not what you lack. Look, it's even a stormy night, perfect for cursing fate.”</p>
<p>I laughed at his offended gesture and waited for him to be out of the car with the umbrella open. By the time he offered me a hand and helped me out of the car, he was smiling too. I held on to his arm, to keep me protected from the rain and also simply because I wanted to.</p>
<p>"Come on," he began to advance. There was a section of about five meters between the edge of the bay for the car and the beginning of the roof that covered the doors of the building.</p>
<p>"And if you have the roof extended?" The drops of water splashed my legs as I walked.</p>
<p>"It doesn't rain that often..." he seemed about to continue with the explanation, but the silhouette of someone approaching with a determined step made us stop for an instant.</p>
<p>It was a tall man, with a knitted cap on his head, whose features I could not distinguish in the dim light of the street lamps.</p>
<p>"Mr. Zuko? Allow me a few words.” Horrified, I squeezed Zuko's arm tighter. His voice was familiar, though not his intonation, the way he dragged some of the syllables.</p>
<p>That man was Aang.</p>
<p>I tried to say something, to let Zuko know who was approaching us, but I was completely frozen. He had stopped and waited.</p>
<p>"That stupid ship of yours shouldn't be called the Dragon of whatever. You should change the name to Elbow Leech, do you know why?”</p>
<p>"Let's go," I whispered so low I barely heard it myself. But Zuko must have understood, because he resumed walking.</p>
<p>“Let me finish!” Aang stepped forward and took his arm, pulling for Zuko to turn to see him. By extension I turned around too, because I was still holding his arm. “Because the elbow leech is a parasite that preys on the animals that feed in the lakes... they leave them weak and confused, it destroys their lives!”</p>
<p>I squeezed Zuko's arm tighter, trembling. <em> No. </em> This couldn't be happening.</p>
<p>"And the elbow leech is just like you! You’re nothing more than a parasite, a monster, like your entire family! You could have just helped us, but no! You wanted to be paid back somehow! And you did, you tricked my wife and took her away from me just like the Air Temple…”</p>
<p>“Stop!” I screamed, unable to contain myself anymore. Zuko looked petrified and Aang turned to me at last.</p>
<p>"Hi K," the light from the streetlamp illuminated his irate features. Like the day at the bank, like the day we fought. “What a coincidence to find you here. I've been looking for you.”</p>
<p>I couldn't answer, I had no words. But he turned and his anger was not directed at me anymore.</p>
<p>"I'll tell you something else, Mr. Zuko. K and I have a secret. We're invincible.” He grabbed Zuko by the lapel of his jacket. Somehow that got me moving and I stepped forward to push him away from Zuko.</p>
<p>"Please, Aang…" The sound of his name felt unfamiliar. I had never tried to say it in a calm tone when what I really felt was anger and frustration.</p>
<p>He turned towards me, locking his eyes with mine.</p>
<p>"I know that in the end K is going to do the right thing, she always does." I opened my eyes at his condescending tone, unable to process it. What the hell did he mean by that? “She will walk away from you and your family rotten to the root.”</p>
<p>Zuko handed me the handle of the umbrella that covered us from the rain and stepped forward.</p>
<p>"I've had enough of it," he growled in a dangerous tone. “She is not anyone’s property and she decides for herself what she does or stops doing.”</p>
<p>Aang pushed him, but Zuko barely moved, planted between Aang and me. All I wanted was to get out of there</p>
<p>"Aang, stop! This is not like you!” I snapped, unable to feign calm to calm him down. My words had the opposite effect and he took a step closer to us. I lowered the umbrella to close it, not caring about the rain that drenched me almost immediately. If I had to use the umbrella to get him away from Zuko and me, I would. When I raised my makeshift defense between us, his horrified look told me that he understood.</p>
<p>"No, K! You are good! He has you confused!” Aang yelled, giving me one last look of despair before trying to punch Zuko. He had the advantage of an extra foot of height, but he was staggering and the blow missed the mark. Zuko stepped towards him and put his arms around Aang’s torso instead of trying to hit him, which I wouldn't blame him for at all. Aang didn't understand the purpose of that and struggled to try to get out of his grasp.</p>
<p>Before he continued to fight or tried to hit Zuko again, a girl in a pink tailored suit came rushing up from the building and struck three different points on Aang's back. With that, he collapsed to his full height over Zuko.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Ty." His voice was heavy with anger.</p>
<p>“I'll see to it that he gets to his house, don't worry. Go upstairs to change and to sign the papers!” She said goodbye without letting go of Aang, who she threw on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. My dismay kept me from being surprised at her strength, and before anything else happened, I took Zuko by the arm and dragged him indoors with me.</p>
<p>"Sir, excuse me, I didn't understand the situation, I should have gone out earlier…" the guard apologized, and Zuko waved him away.</p>
<p>"Don't worry." He kept moving, so fast I almost fell behind.</p>
<p>Once behind the glass doors, we went up to his office via the elevator. He was soaked and as soon as he could, he took off his coat. Beneath that, his shirt clung to his neck and his back, but part of him still looked dry.</p>
<p>He pulled dry clothes out of one of his drawers (much more casual than the ones he was wearing) and went into the bathroom, slamming the door.</p>
<p>I huddled in one of the chairs. Surely I’d leave its surface wet, I was in the rain for a few minutes myself, but I couldn't get myself to care. Instead, I held my necklace tightly and rubbed the familiar pattern of flowing lines, trying to make that movement wash away the lump in my throat and the feeling of horror in my stomach.</p>
<p>What was Aang doing here? How had he found us?</p>
<p>I was not prepared to see him, less so for his not entirely unfounded reproaches. But he considered himself the most aggrieved, <em> he had left first! </em></p>
<p>My actions hadn't been perfect either, of course. And it must have been a shock to see me with Zuko, as if confirming his suspicions from after Omashu… spirits, I had acted worse than I had allowed myself to examine. There was no one to blame but myself… A wave of shame washed over me at the real impact of what I had done. </p>
<p>I was startled when the door opened and Zuko emerged from the bathroom, a towel draped over his back.</p>
<p>"I’m sorry," I told him as I stood up. He didn't try to get closer to me, but he didn't move away either when I lifted a hand up to his arm. “I didn't think he would do something like that... it's the first time I've seen him in months, I swear…”</p>
<p>"There's another towel, come in to dry yourself a bit." He didn't look at me or respond to what I had just said. “I’ll return after I sign the documents.”</p>
<p>I nodded even though he had already left. I couldn't hold back a tear as I took off my wet dress and used the towel to dry my skin as much as possible. He had left a change of clothes, which looked like a uniform of some kind. It was too big for me, but it was dry and I put it on, grateful. In spite of everything, he had worried.</p>
<p>"All set, we can go now." He was already waiting outside when I came out of the restroom.</p>
<p>"Thanks for the clothes," I said quietly. That whole episode had been my fault. “I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>He offered me his arm, as he always did, although this time he was too tense, and coldness seeped into his movements.</p>
<p>"You are not responsible for how he acts," he replied with absent calm. He didn't look at me. We walked without another word, straight to the parking lot where the driver was already waiting with the car ready. It was the driver who opened the door for me as Zuko climbed the other side. I hugged myself. After everything he had done, and because of me he had suffered all this... It had taken me too long to decide and now I had no idea how to apologize for the bad time and assure him that everything was about to improve...</p>
<p>"I didn't know Ty Lee was in town." I made a lukewarm attempt to resume a friendly conversation.</p>
<p>"She'll stay here for some days. Messages to Caldera take too long,” he replied in the same controlled tone, his posture still tense. I gave up my attempt and there was a solid, charged silence all the way back to the house.</p>
<p>We entered and even Druk sensed that something was wrong. Instead of his usual enthusiasm, he cautiously approached and rubbed against Zuko's leg.</p>
<p>"I'm going to my study," he announced. “There are some matters that I must have reviewed for the meetings in Gaolin tomorrow.”</p>
<p>"I'll wait for you in the bedroom," I said, a little desperate to regain any hint of normalcy between us.</p>
<p>"I may be late. Don't worry.” The unnatural tension in his shoulders was the last thing I saw as he entered his study, this time without slamming the door.</p>
<p>"Okay," I said, too late for him to hear me. I went up to our room and, without hope of sleeping, I bathed before changing my clothes. An hour later, he still hadn't returned and I wiped the tears from my cheeks.</p>
<p>Not him, not him too… I couldn't bear Zuko getting upset the way Aang did, back in Chin City. I couldn't let him go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I just hoped I hadn't taken too long.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>I dropped into the study chair. My last reserves of energy were being rapidly depleted in a burning rage and still, I couldn’t calm myself. I clenched and unclenched my fists, annoyed. I knew I had no right to feel like this. I had no right to <em> anything. </em></p>
<p>That was what bothered me so much.</p>
<p>Over the weeks, and then the months, my hope had solidified so much that it all seemed plausible, well founded. <em> She wants to stay with me. </em> I allowed myself to live that dream, to let her sweep my life like a wave and seep into every corner. I let her do, just an ecstatic spectator to her magic, but now the time had come when I had to accept how much I had grown used to her presence. So much so that it was hard for me to imagine myself without her.</p>
<p>Finding <em> him </em> at Ba Sing Se, while I was with Kat, was the materialization of a nightmare. As soon as I understood who he was, I got defensive. Because I was scared.</p>
<p>I wanted to answer back that Katara had already decided, and that she had chosen me, that I was not like the rest of my family... But I couldn't say that to the man who was still her <em> husband </em> . <em> That </em> was the stinging proof that Katara hadn't chosen me yet.</p>
<p>What else did I have to do? Why was I still not enough?</p>
<p>Because I had rushed so much, after feeling like I was lucky and she reciprocated, instead of giving her time to process her situation. Everything between her and me, the months around which I had reassembled my entire life, all of that was so fragile. That visit from her husband had been enough to remind me that it was built out of smoke. And even if it was the case, I should be grateful for just that. I didn't deserve it.</p>
<p>But, like when she came to Ba Sing Se, instead of thanking her, I desperately wished I could have more than she was already generously giving me. Perhaps, if in all this time I hadn’t been a coward and told her that I loved her...</p>
<p>I closed my eyes, exhausted and snapping off that thought. I hadn't slept well the last few days; I probably wouldn't sleep at all tonight. And I needed to be focused when I saw Toph's father. He was always looking for a way to gain an edge when doing business with me… not always in a fair way.</p>
<p>And after dealing with him, I had an important matter to attend to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The early morning found me still without having the courage to return to the room that we had shared for months, which she had already filled with memories as well. I didn't have the strength to face seeing her in the bed we shared, while she still had such a strong bond with someone else.</p>
<p>I left the house at dawn, without waking Kat. I left a note for her, unable to completely ignore her despite my anger. Almost all that anger was against myself, for being insufficient, like I had been my whole life. Not against her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! And thanks to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia for their editing!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. A letter from Ursa</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Kat:</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm sorry about my attitude from yesterday. I needed space to process the encounter.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There are aspects of myself that I don't like and I prefer that you not see them.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll be back soon,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I squeezed the note in my hand. I hadn't been nice to him all along. I had been openly aggressive, even, and yet he felt that he should hide from me… I had to make it clearer to him the absoluteness of my acceptance. Another thing on the list that I needed to clarify with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked at my watch and hurried back to the room, where I packed a suitcase with two changes of clothes and a couple of important things. The most important of all those was back in the study, where my desk was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The week before, I looked up for a lawyer in the directory. I chose one almost at random and visited his office to ask what was the next step in my situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You will have to talk to him, ma'am." I was already afraid of that, but knowing it wasn't pleasant anyway. “At least twice, for the signatures. These documents are the first thing to do. I include a copy for you, sign both.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you." I took the folder he offered me. I knew exactly who to contact so I didn't have to talk to Aang until it was necessary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The documents rested on my desk, buried among my study books, during the week leading up to Zuko's departure (and the horrendous encounter with Aang).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The time for direct action had come.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the clock struck the time that the plane from Zuko to Gaolin took off, I grabbed my suitcase and papers, and asked the driver to take me to the airport. I was grateful for the first time for the debit card that Zuko had put in my name and that I had hardly used in those months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Miss! Miss! Where are you going?” Min came running up in the time the driver had gone for the car. “Surely you’re not thinking about...?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>White as paper and out of breath, she looked at me, completely terrified. I tried to smile to reassure her; in fact, the purpose of my departure was the complete opposite of abandoning Zuko.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I have business to attend to in Omashu. I'll be back tomorrow night or the next morning at the most.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The chauffeur approached us, and his hands shook as he took my suitcase. Mortally pale, he shot Min a panicked look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll call to tell you what time you'll have to pick me up at the airport when I get back," I said before he too manifested his alarm. “Tomorrow or the day after.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll be there, miss," the driver nodded. However, the whole trip he kept staring at me in the rear view mirror. I smiled for a moment as I looked out the window. That was a kind of loyalty to Zuko that didn't just come from money.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I did not feel the time of the flight. There were too many things on my mind, always changing and moving so fast it made me dizzy. Would Zuko still want me next to him after Aang? He'd been a little weird all week, and he looked so upset before he left. And how long would the legal process take? What would Aang do when he found out?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amid that turbulent sea of questions and concerns, the only immovable island was my decision to continue with the divorce. Whatever happened, I would face it. But without being married to Aang anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was past lunchtime when the taxi dropped me directly outside the Freedom Fighters Bar building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I squared my shoulders and walked up the steps to enter through the glass doors. My first objective was the large reception desk, but I couldn't make it. Someone had approached me, loaded with folders, and I was surprised to find her image in my memory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Katara?" Smellerbee still had short, messy hair and still preferred suits with pants instead of skirts. She hadn't changed in the last few years, and apparently neither had I, because she had recognized me immediately. “It's you? Weren't you living in Chin City?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi, Smellerbee." I forced myself to smile. “Yes, although I now live in Ba Sing Se. I’m looking for Jet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked at me with some surprise, but she motioned for me to follow her with a wave of her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sure, he's ending a meeting with a client, I'll tell him you’re waiting for him as soon as he's finished with his meeting. Come, I was on my way there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She led me to a room with frosted glass walls, which only let visible a little more than the silhouettes of the furniture on the other side. Otherwise, the room was empty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Jet will come as soon as possible." She put down a couple of folders she was carrying on the table before leaving. The door was left open, and I sat down in a random chair around the huge oval table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the wait, I rubbed the pendant on my necklace, immersed in a sudden rush of memories. Almost like a movie, the scenes from the first time I saw Aang passed before my mind’s eye: him, standing at the school gate with Gyatso's hand on one of his shoulders; memories of our adolescence together, all the excursions in the snow; from when he moved in with Sokka and me in the city, and the Appa-shaped whistle he bought at a flea market. Of our wedding, and the time after. There were so many things that I could have done differently, others that I would no longer accept and was surprised that I had accepted them before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was not that abnegated, always sweet and perfect figure that Aang implied in Ba Sing Se. I never had been, although I had tried to be… and the moment I couldn’t stand it anymore and the illusion shattered, it had hurt both Aang and me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone was approaching and stopped in front of the open door. Jet looked at me in poorly disguised astonishment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks for coming, Jet." I crossed my arms as he finally entered, to sit across from me at the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's really you, I can't believe it. Mrs. Hannak,” he said my name emphatically. “Or maybe your last name will be changed to Azulon?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't see why you mention my last name." I held my chin up. “I didn't change my name when I married Aang, my name is still mine alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"To what do I owe the pleasure of his visit, then?" He curtsied sarcastically from his waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can't you imagine it?" I replied with false kindness. “I spoke with another lawyer in Ba Sing Se and I have the papers for Aang and I to get divorced. I immediately thought of you, because you know how to locate him and I don't.” I took out the folder the other lawyer gave me and put it on the desk. “I hope that this matter is not too far below your capabilities, Attorney Jet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled away from the folder with a sudden movement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If this has something to do with that bastard from the Fire Corp., I swear…" He still hadn't touched the papers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That doesn't matter." I gritted my teeth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It matters because arrangements must be made! The property, what belongs to Aang…” His hands were shaking as he finally opened the document and began to read it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I already have all my things and I gave him what was his." I wasn't going to fight for it. “All I want is for the process to run as quickly as possible, I need you to sign this copy to attest of receipt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I put the second set of documents in front of him, and he reluctantly signed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And the property?" He went on with his examination of the text.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Zuko put the Air Temple deeds in Aang's name," I replied, and Jet cursed under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I can't believe you're leaving Aang for that…" I couldn't hear the offensive qualifier Jet probably uttered and I shut him up with a gesture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's none of your business, is it?" I glared at him. He leaned with both arms on the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Listen to me, Katara. I tell you as your friend: don't do this. Don't leave Aang. You are the love of his life, the only one for him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly. I've been what others need me to be all my life. For once, I'm doing something for myself.” I stepped forward until I was almost face to face with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You don't understand, you didn't see him in his first weeks here in Omashu, he can't live without you!" His tone changed almost to one of pleading. “I don't know what problems you two had, but he changed. You can try again, please think about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm glad Aang already has a lawyer," I scoffed. “Did he ask you to say all this? It's not going to work, especially after I met him in Ba Sing Se and he started yelling at me and looking at me over his nose with his moral pretensions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I tried to keep my voice at a normal volume. It wasn't worth explaining to Jet, I reminded myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, and about the money, tell Aang that he can have it all. I don't want it nor need it.” I jerked my chair aside and walked out of the conference room with the signed papers securely in my hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Behind me, Jet got to his feet and followed me into the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Someday you're going to regret it! You whored yourself out to a Fire Corp. bastard!” His shouting voice chased me as I exited, immediately drawing the attention of everyone around. I kept my back straight, without looking back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My jaw suffered from the force with which I clenched my teeth, but I refused to lower my eyes or hunch over as I strode out. On my back the looks (and the murmurs) of everyone present burned. It was to be expected, considering who the main enemy of this exact bar was. Once I was sure I was out of sight from inside the building, I started to run, my vision blurred with tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What right does he have to judge me!?” I cursed, scaring the two people walking across the street. “He doesn't know anything!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not wanting to spend another second in that city, I got a taxi as soon as I could. If I hurried, I could still catch the plane leaving at night to leave Omashu as soon as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The very second I had my ticket in hand, I called the house to ask the driver to be at the airport at 7 in the morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The night flight was heaven sent, and allowed me to cry in silence and without being seen all that I needed to cry. Under the cloud of smoke and anger that covered my interaction with Jet, the pain was lighter than I'd expected. More than pain to leave Aang, I felt relief. What did that say about my feelings for him? Instead of a red-hot pain, there was just a tired throb, like an overused muscle. Sore and a little numb, but not overwhelming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eyes puffy but dry, I returned the smile of distilled relief the driver gave me when he saw me back, and at the house, which I could now begin to call home, Druk greeted me with the same enthusiasm as ever. I shed a few more tears on his reddish mane. He seemed to know that I needed comfort and he let himself be hugged without stirring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks, little guy." He licked the side of my face and I laughed, feeling suddenly light. “Come on, Zuko told me you'd need at least one obstacle course walk every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I would see to it in the two days it would still take for him to return from Gaolin. And when he returned, I’d have some very good news to give him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the afternoon, calmer than when I arrived, I went out to the city again, carrying the roll of vacation pictures in my bag. I delivered it to a photography store, which promised the prints for the next day. I practically floated on my way back home, finally </span>
  <em>
    <span>home. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The worst of my mistakes was behind me... A new stage of my life was beginning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Work was a good distraction from things I didn't want to think about. It had been for years, and this time it was no exception. Three days of arid meetings later, the numbers and percentages kept dancing in front of my eyes and didn't disappear until it was time to meet Jun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had even been able not to think too much about the uncertain future of my relationship with Katara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I left the meeting and gave the driver an address. With instructions to wait for me, I walked into the seedy bar Jun had summoned me to. I located her immediately at the bar, counting coins out of a stack piled in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My dear prince," she greeted me with a languid smile. “You forgot to mention those familiar details in your explanation of the investigation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My grandfather was full of baseless gossip," I growled under my breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even if it were baseless, it was important information. At least I was able to find out in time.” She put the coins in a bag and stood up. “This way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I followed her into a private room inside the bar. As seedy as the rest, the grimy walls reflected the depressing light from a light bulb with no lamp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Welcome to my Gaolin office," she sneered as she sat down and pointed to the other chair across from the table. “Something to drink?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled out two bottles of beer without waiting for my answer, and removed the corks. I took the one she offered me without another word, and left it on the table without drinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's one of the most difficult cases I've ever come across. I thank you for the challenge, I have not invested so much work in a commission for years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That would probably be reflected in the fees, but what I wanted was the information.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Will you tell me what you found or not?" I crossed my arms and looked at her with a frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're impatient, huh?" She raised an eyebrow, but an instant later her expression became much more serious. “I still haven’t found trace of her, as such.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no time for me to register the mixture of relief and sadness at the fact that my mother was still missing before Jun spoke again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But I do have interesting information."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From a messenger bag she carried over her shoulder, she pulled out a file, which then she put on the table without removing her fingertips from it. I had to make a conscious effort to stop my hands from reaching for the document.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I spoke with someone, Mr. Zuko." She looked me straight in the eye. “It took me a while to get close and have him give me all the information he had.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who?” I clenched my hands into fists. If she hadn't found my mother, what was this information that she had mentioned so much?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A man named Ikem Hira'a. He is Mrs. Ursa's former fiancé. Before she married Ozai Azulon, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fiancé?” I said between clenched teeth. I wasn't sure I could withstand the effect of the information, and yet I couldn't help but thirst for it. “What do you mean by that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jun finally opened the file, complete with a photograph of a middle-aged man with brown hair and fair skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Before Ursa Ta-Min came to terms with Lord Ozai, she was close to marrying this man. At the time, he was an aspiring playwright trying to sell his early manuscripts to a theater company. The influence of the Ta-Min family helped to accommodate his play in an Ember Island theater.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I absorbed the information. Mom spoke very little about her family, Azula and I hadn't even met our grandparents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"His success was moderate, but the end result was that the family consented to the marriage between Ursa and Ikem. Until they attended a party hosted by the Azulon family. Ozai immediately made a marriage proposal to Ursa, which her family rejected.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had forgotten to breathe. Not even my uncle had heard of it. At that time, he was away from the family in Caldera, already married and raising my cousin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ozai wasn't happy with the refusal. I couldn’t find out the exact threats that he used to change the answer. He and Ursa were married a few months later and she did not leave Caldera alone again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took a drink from the beer bottle more for doing something with my hands than for actually wanting a drink. The bitter taste helped me focus again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"When Ursa's parents died, all ties were erased. It was a former theater employee who finally gave me the name Ikem. Currently, he has a position in a film studio, adapting scripts and making his own from time to time. He is married and has a daughter, of whom I have been able to find out very little. He refused to let me talk to them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were other photos behind the first, of the entire family smiling at the camera. Then she pulled out a sheet of paper herself from the pile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I got this too. For obvious reasons, he did not give me the original, only a copy of the letter. The last communication he received from Ursa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes," was all I could answer, taking the papers he handed me. I wasn't sure I would have the courage to read it all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The complete information is in the file," she pointed out, with the strange courtesy of not bringing attention to the erratic movements of my hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much do I owe you?” I took out a checkbook and signed before I even entered the amount.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I need 50,000 yuan in advance for other expenses," I noted without question and she received the check before making it disappear into a pocket of her black clothes. “I'll keep investigating, Mr. Zuko.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's more than anything I've ever gotten before." Trying to keep my composure, I put the file into my briefcase. “Let me know when you have more information.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without further ado, I left it in her "office" and breathed the night air. The car was already waiting for me to take me back to the hotel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A quiet sob escaped my throat. It was not difficult to imagine the nature of the threats, knowing my father. And what really interested him in wanting to marry my mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was an only child and she inherited everything when her grandparents had died, shortly after Azula was born. But it was my father who got all that, and administered it... and it was the evidence that had incriminated him for the disappearance of my mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It all made so much more sense. Many times before, I had asked myself what had convinced her to marry my father. Blackmail and threats, as many as necessary until my father got what he wanted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A casino night and the deeds of a building came to my mind, destroying what little peace was left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as I got to my hotel room, I called Ty Lee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You won’t guess what Aang was doing in Ba Sing Se!" She intoned happily after my curt greeting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Looking for his wife," I replied, caustic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, that too." She sounded like she had frowned, but immediately returned to her usual happy tone. “He was a lecturer for Art Week, about the Air Nomads and all that. He works at Omashu University.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was silent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"His entire room was filled with sketches of Katara, it was a bit... creepy," she finished, and my heart dropped straight to my feet. He must have missed her so much… I could understand that. Ty noticed my discouragement and didn't wait for my response. “Everything else is in order, it's a shame I can't see you before returning to Caldera.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah…" and we got to the reason why he had called her. “Please tell Katara that something unforeseen has arisen and that when I get to Ba Sing Se I will go straight to the office.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wouldn't be able to talk to her without completely breaking down. I needed to process what I had found out and what was yet to be found on that file… about which I had a bad feeling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Ty she sounded worried and as perky as ever, even though this was the middle of the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nothing important," I murmured before hanging up, unable to articulate a mildly convincing lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And without any other task that could delay the moment, it only remained to read the papers that Jun had given me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With shaking hands, I put the folder on the table in the hotel room. I opened it delicately, as if it were a bomb. I could almost hear the tick that announced an explosion that would take away everything I thought I knew about my mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside, the first thing I found were official documents with Ikem's name. Contracts, newspaper clippings, some other pictures of him with his coworkers. And with his family... That photograph I examined carefully; it was dated almost a decade ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The couple smiled, and among them was a girl who joyfully showed a teeth gap in her own smile. The woman seemed so happy, carefree. She was hugging her husband and their daughter in front of an ice cream cone-shaped statue, a family scene with which I couldn't find a parallel in my own childhood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That place could have belonged to my mother, if Ozai had not interfered to destroy her life...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Afterwards, there was a list of the films in which Ikem collaborated with the script. None of them sounded too familiar to me, except for one of the adaptations of "Love Among Dragons." I remembered watching that movie with my mother and Azula, shortly before her disappearance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And in the end, the letter. Each word felt like a new cut on my skin, a new burn, but I forced myself to continue reading the few lines of text on the sheet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ikem, my love:</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There is so much that I would like to explain to you, but so few lines. I don't have an answer. I'm going to marry Ozai, it's the only way to</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the line was crossed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I wish everything was different. It would be easier if I loved you less... Don't look for me, just remember me when you rebuild your life. Everything I do is for the sake of us both and my family.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You are so talented, I am sure my parents will continue to support you in the theater. I wish you the greatest success in the world.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>With love,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ursa</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing else. That letter was the testimony of the life that had been taken from her, even before she disappeared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It all made so much sense… That's why being with her and my father had never felt like being in a family, that's why Mom's perpetual sadness. Azula and I were nothing but the result of a life that she had not chosen. From an impossible decision that ended up taking everything away from her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And despite that, I was sure that she had loved us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I put the letter back in the folder. I went through the documents Jun gave me again. Every time the image of Ikem appeared before my weary eyes, his features transformed into those of the desperate gray-eyed man who had found us outside the company building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I rested my head in my hands and couldn't contain a sob of despair and regret.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was more alike to my father than I thought. But there was still time to remedy that, and I would. Regardless of the price.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I haven’t really read the book (the Indecent proposal one), but when I was researching for this writing, I did read some of its reviews. From what I gathered, the movie was a pretty different version from the original, that dealt more with political comments and was more on the lines of a metaphor of geopolitics. Well, sorry for these darker themes… <br/>And sorry for updating so late today TToTT this day was crazy, and I’m also working on the Zutara Big Bang WIP… stay tuned for those fics in early June! There are so many awesome ideas :D They’ll be anonymous for two weeks after publishing, maybe you’ll be able to guess which one is mine if you look around ^w^ but you’ll surely find some great fics regardless!</p>
<p>Thanks for reading! And thanks to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia for their editing!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. One night contract</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I woke up without recognizing my surroundings and with the headache actively preventing me from reasoning freely. It took a few minutes of inspection and a painful series of movements to get me upright before I recognized Ba Sing Se's hotel room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pink dot did not finish stabilizing in my blurred vision. I leaned over and it turned out to be an object, lying on the ground: a button, big, round, and pink, that suddenly returned memories that evaporated in the alcohol cloud of the previous afternoon. After seeing K in the company of that man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I remembered waking up back in this room, without the slightest idea how I had gotten back and with a hellish back pain. A girl with a slightly tousled high braid was leaning over me, pulling off a wet pink jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You’re already awake? That’s good! I was afraid I overdid it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hovered out of my field of vision and I had a hard time repositioning her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Art Week?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lecturer? Wow!” I found her flipping through the things on my table, which included the sketches of K that I had done late at night between events. I had drawn them in pen on the back of all the show and promo sheets they'd given me, which was a respectable bunch. “Ah, this is… a bit excessive, don't you think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's a demonstration of my love for her." I regained my speech to defend myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm no one to advise you anything..." she began, and I snorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then don't." My words came out a little thick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, I'll do it anyway, because it seems like you need the advice and I'm the only one here." She smiled, straightening her bangs. “There are issues that have to be faced without alcohol. You did more harm than good to your cause.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I closed my eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I already noticed that. I don't know what else to do.” I felt a pat on my shoulder and when I opened my eyes, I found a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You know something? You don't seem willing to flow.” She gave me a meaningful look, which I couldn't decipher. I frowned. “The back pain will disappear in a day or two, sooner if you know how to let things go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked back at me, as if wanting me to understand something else. Seeing my grumpy gesture, she sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Try to get some rest. That’ll help too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she disappeared behind the door without another word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I slept for several hours after the strange girl left. Still with my head pounding, I got to the airport and dragged my suitcase and the special portfolio for my prints. I almost twisted my neck from the speed with which I turned into the waiting room opposite. The man in the suit and dark hair… something about him reminded me of Zuko, and he was among the passengers waiting for the plane on the other side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man boarded the flight to Gaolin without my being able to see his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The constant headache that accompanied me throughout my own trip to Omashu served as a reminder of the reasons why I avoided alcoholic beverages stronger than wine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The University had canceled my classes on Monday to give me time to go back and rest a bit, but on Tuesday I went to teach again, finding cheerful students after their week of vacation (at least from my class).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On Wednesday, I came back exhausted after one of the extra sessions on Air Nomads. Appa was as eager to get into the house as I was. I served him a plate of food and he was about to drop me on the couch when the doorbell rang. Oddly, Appa raised her head from his plate and groaned. Either way, I opened the door again and found Jet on the other side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi," I greeted with an attempted smile over my bad feeling. “Come in, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked in and looked around, uncomfortable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Aang, I have bad news." I looked at the portfolio in his hand and my soul evaporated from my body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
  <em>
    <span> No, no, no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It couldn't be that...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Katara gave me the divorce papers on Monday," Jet declared with a defitinivity that made the nightmare real.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world spun around me in a black vortex. In the distance I could hear Appa barking, barely distinguishable against the layer of pain that suddenly cut me off from the world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Life gave me a crumb of consolation in the fact that Ty Lee would be on a plane by the time I got to Ba Sing Se, and would be unable to chase me through phone calls until a few hours later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, it was a paltry reward compared to what I was about to lose. But in reality, I couldn't lose something that I hadn't really had, and I shouldn't regret the loss if I should never have aspired to it in the first place...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A throbbing deep in my skull made me frown even deeper. There was no point in thinking about the details; it would hurt just the same if I tried to justify it or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I arrived at Ba Sing Se early, and as I had announced, went straight to the office. I had to gather up the courage for what I needed to do when I returned home. Although I would have preferred to go through another face burn than do this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first few hours I made a sincere effort to work. I handed in the documents resulting from the meetings in Gaolin, corrected the reports addressed to me, wrote my own two reports with decreasing concentration. By an hour after noon, I was unable to read one more figure, and the mountain of ‘important documents’ piled up on my desk without my having the slightest intention of dealing with them. The third time the phone rang, I picked up to say I was unavailable and then unplugged the device.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Let everything collapse that very instant, see if I cared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only thing I could fix my eyes on was the file that Jun had given me. I spread the photographs around me on the desk. In the center, I left the one that showed the entire family, Ikem’s family. Ikem, my mother's former fiancé. The man she loved, and whom my father forced her to leave so she could marry into the Azulon’s family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How was it different from what I had done to Katara and her marriage?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I smiled bitterly. And to think that a few days before I had been so angry at Katara's indecision regarding her husband. It still hurt, but now I understood that it had been better, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Through the window, sunset was turning the clouds orange. My time was running out. The excuse of pending work would soon be over and I would have to go home. And talk to her, to try to repair the damage I had done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every movement between the door of my office and the entrance of the house was a constant struggle against myself. The difficulty intensified when I entered the house and saw light coming from upstairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Zuko!" She was in our —my room, brushing her hair. “How was the trip?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her smiling reflection on the mirror looked directly at me, full of sincere joy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Good." My tongue felt heavy and I took refuge in work, as always. “There are new agreements with the Beifong Bank.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although I hadn't even been able to see Toph, after Jun, it had been better too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have time? I have something to talk to you about.” She turned to look at me directly, not through her reflection. “Now that I remember, you were going to tell me something before you left …”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My failed attempt to tell him about my mother, of course. Since she mentioned it, not telling her was another thing I should be happy about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, something to tell you." Something very different from what I had planned, and I wanted to laugh at the irony. So much had changed in just three days.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well?” She looked at me with limpid blue eyes, as trusting as she had been for months. How did I not appreciate that shine more in the season that I was about to truncate with my next words? I swallowed the bile that came with the idea of breaking that trust, and continued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's something I should have told you before." Long before. My voice didn't seem to belong to me. She evidently noticed something strange as well and stood up to approach me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Tell me what? Zuko, what is it? Is everything alright?” She seemed so full of concern that it almost broke my will to shut up all that was wrong. I looked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Telling you that you're just one of many," I forced the words down my throat. “Didn’t I tell you? One of the many girls I signed a one night contract with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only a creak from the floor interrupted the silence that followed. I wondered if that had been my heart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or hers.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That thought almost brought me to my knees to apologize. But the pain of this moment would save her a lot of suffering in the future, right? So that she was the woman in the photograph, not the one tied to the owner of the Fire Corp. That gave me the strength to hold my ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” She took me by the shoulder, forcing me to stay in place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just that, nothing more. Congratulations on joining the one million girls club.” I tried to shrug, and instead shrinked in anticipation of a hit. The sound came, but not the pain. When I turned to see her, she had thrown the hairbrush against one of the walls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't believe you." Her voice took on an almost murderous tone, hair loose and fluffy behind her back, almost as furious as she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"As you wish." The phrases I had so carefully crafted to offend her and drive her away from me turned to ashes in my mouth and I had to improvise one in a hurry, before my silence became suspicious. “Still, I bought you, like them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her gaze betrayed a look of pain for a second, before she masked it with anger. Sure, to hurt her I did have luck and talent...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Get. Out." She pointed to the door of the room we had shared for so many months. I came out breathing hard, without closing the door. She took care of that and the echo of the bang followed me down the stairs, a hollow sound that made me shiver with each repetition in my memory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without being really aware of what I was doing, my steps took me to the bar that was already there when I got the house; even though I hardly used it, it was always well stocked. I took out one of the mineral water siphons and the first bottle of alcohol I reached on the shelf.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I poured equal proportions of the two drinks into a glass and sat on the floor, to contemplate the result of my actions in the bubbles swirling and clinging to the glass. I couldn't force myself to take a single sip, despite my dry mouth. She must be upstairs packing. At any moment she would come down with her suitcase... or maybe she was packing </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> things and the one who would have to go would be me. Leaving the house to her actually didn't bother me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I could go back to Caldera, or to Omashu. In either city, I’d have to look for a new house with a big yard, for Druk. I was glad that he was sleeping therefore was not a witness of the moment when my life fell apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was Druk going to miss her as much as I did?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The walls were closing in on me. I thought I would be prepared for the feeling, so much like when Mom disappeared, so similar to when I realized that my life was worth nothing in my father's eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But I wasn't prepared. Every breath hurt like it was going to be the last, and every second brought a desperate fight against the weight of the entire ocean over my chest just to get some air into my lungs. This was the right thing to do. I would not be like my father, breaking a relationship on a whim, by greed, and a desire to own a woman who was with another man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But I love her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>I didn’t want to ‘own’ her, with the connotations of power, as my father had my mother. Like a songbird in a cage, which he… discarded when she stopped singing the way he wanted. No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> like that. I wanted Katara to be happy...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And for a brief time, she had chosen me. When she asked me to go with her family and once there she defended me tooth and nail. She chose to take me with her instead of going alone. And when we found her husband outside the Fire Corp. building, at least that time… between him and me, she went with me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I clung to that idea with the desperation of a castaway to a wooden plank in a stormy sea. It would have to suffice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I heard her footsteps coming down the stairs. I closed my eyes. I was not noble enough to just see her go. I didn't trust myself to see and do nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound came closer until she was next to me, and then stopped. Still, I couldn't look up. I mentally prepared myself for the possibilities that made the most sense to me: some insult, an attack, a reminder of how pathetic I was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But absolutely not for her to sit next to me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once I closed the door behind Zuko, I leaned against it with heavy breathing, a tearless sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I bought you, like them.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>So I had sold myself, as Jet so eloquently put it. Except it wasn't true. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>be true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I frantically searched my memory for every detail that confirmed Zuko's sincerity. Every gesture, every sweet word, all the time and effort and attention that he devoted to me in those months. If he really had "bought" me, he would have been much more selfish in taking his pleasure with me instead of making me enjoy night after night with him. Much less would he have cared about my personal aspirations outside of our relationship...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But if it was a lie, then why had he told me that? I bit my lip, hesitating despite myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was someone who would know the truth! I jumped to my feet and ran to the phone. I took out the phone book from the drawer and searched. It was a bit difficult to dial the number; I had a hard time concentrating and finishing the sequence. After several unsuccessful attempts, I was rewarded with the sound of the connection tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ty Lee, this is Katara." I pressed the phone receiver against my cheek. “I need to ask you a question. Zuko said there have been a lot of ‘one million girls’. Is it true?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Uh... Zuko... but..." she hesitated, lost. I didn't have time to apologize. “I don’t understand, what do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it true? Are there a lot of girls he has paid a million to have sex with them?” I repeated without much patience. The silence lasted a few eternal seconds in which the blood rumbled in my ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Y... yes. Yes, it's true. Several girls…” Her words tore through me like a knife before I could hear the panic in her voice. Could it be a lie born of desperation? “I… um, I oversee his accounts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How many girls?" I continued the interrogation mercilessly, eager for the answers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dont know!” Ty Lee jumped, cornered. “He doesn’t tag his personal expenses!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The call ended abruptly with Ty Lee's abrupt crash of the phone, hanging up. Dumbfounded, I debated for a moment whether or not to call her again. I didn't think she would answer again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My head was spinning. The call had clarified almost nothing… Except if Ty Lee was overseeing Zuko’s accounts and he was not tagging his expenses, then how could Ty Lee be sure he had spent on </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hope resurfaced in my chest. That meant it was a lie, for sure, wasn’t it? If it was a lie, it wouldn't take many questions before it fell under its own weight. And once I knew for a fact that he had lied, I would tell Zuko what I thought about wanting to lie to me like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As long as he hadn't run away like Aang, without facing me. I left the room and scanned the house from the second floor. Relief washed over me at locating him, sitting on the floor by the little bar with a full glass in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn't look up when I got closer. I took another of the glasses from the canteen and decided to sit next to him on the rug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, now tell me about those ‘one-million girls’." I served myself some of the contents of each bottle. Mineral water and a distillate that I had never drunk before. The impromptu cocktail sat on my hand and I didn’t take a drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” He raised his head and his grip on the glass tightened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The other girls you paid a million for spending a night with you," I explained, feigning an indifference that contradicted with the fast, expectant beats of my heart. “You just told me there were many. Tell me about them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He made a face as if I had just asked about a fish that flew past the kitchen. I raised an eyebrow, secretly full of hope, and continued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well then, which number am I? You said it was a long list.” I took a sip from my glass. The horrible taste made me cough a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Uhm…" His already pale complexion turned ashen and I smiled. It had been a lie, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you lose the count? It's understandable, I imagine.” I didn't take my gaze from him and he shrinked, which made me relax the pressure on him. I didn't want to make him feel worse, I wanted explanations. “I know which one you’ll remember for sure: the first one, who was the first?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He spoke after a long silence, lengthened even more by how aware I was of his every move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Jin," he whispered afterward. “I met her here at Ba Sing Se.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The confidence in that answer stopped me in my tracks again. Had I been wrong, and was it true? Breathing deeply, I steeled myself. It was time to check.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And did you offer her to come live at your house too?" I couldn't stop the desperation and fervor of my hope from seeping into my voice. “Did you also go with her family to celebrate New Year?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shivered, retracting into himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Er… she…" He couldn't put together a complete sentence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I risked following my intuition. It had been a lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think it's an insult to my intelligence to pretend any longer." I looked at him, as my heart relaxed after the adrenaline rush, as if I deflated too. “I don't know what the justification is for trying to lie to me like that, or what did you want to achieve. But I hoped you would trust my judgment to make my own decisions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had defended that same thing against Aang, a few days before... Aang! Could it be because of that? I shook my head, exhausted. I should have talked to him before, since Suki's call, since I decided to get the divorce.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If in some weird way this had anything to do with me going back to Aang…" I wanted to make it very clear. Better late than never. “It will not happen. Even if the two of us don't work out, it's already too late for that relationship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For some reason that made him shiver even more, enough for it to be visible. Panicked, I announced what I hoped would make him feel better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The divorce will be ready in a couple of months at the most. I went to Omashu to fix the papers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He finally turned to see me. With a look of despair, of such silent anguish that he stunned me. What was really the matter?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a lump in my throat, I made an effort to focus and speak again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If it had nothing to do with Aang and you want me to leave, that's fine: say it directly. If you don't want us to be together anymore or if you want to take things slower, we can talk. But don't expect me to leave without at least trying to ask you the reasons.” I knew firsthand how much that hurt… I wouldn't inflict that on someone else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An overwhelming silence fell around us. He was no longer looking at me; I waited, my heart pounding. Silence went on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I had already given up hope that he would answer me, and began to think of the possibility of standing up and leaving him alone for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to be like my father," came a thin, broken voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” I leaned toward him with a puzzled gesture, my shoulder touching his. He was as different from Ozai Azulon as I could imagine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My… my mother was already engaged to someone else when my father met her. He wanted her as her wife. When persuasion didn't work, he threatened her. Until he got her to break off her engagement and marry him instead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His gaze was fixed on the floor, but seeing things far away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to be like my father. And if I already destroyed your marriage, I don't see why I would be any different from him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I hugged him with a heavy heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How can you think that?" A tear was already running down my cheek. “How? I was never so happy as in these months with you. Don't talk about it like it's bad…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He relaxed in my embrace a bit, but then returned to his tense posture, as if he had suddenly remembered something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Aang may have been right." His fingers gripped the glass. “I may be a monster and this whole thing was too selfish of me. I should’ve given you the million yuan without demanding anything in return and let you both go. You would still be together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Zuko, no," I implored. He looked so sad, devoid of his usual determination. “Aang and I already had problems, problems that I was too young to see at first, too used to being with him to see them later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With four more years of experience, my perspective on life was so different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Still…" His voice trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's completely different!" I increased my volume. “I don't know where you got that idea from, but in case you still doubt, everything I've done since I saw you standing there in my horrible office has been </span>
  <em>
    <span>my own decision,</span>
  </em>
  <span> not something inspired by need or fear. I'm still here, that should tell you something,” I finished, with a grumpy huff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I forced you to be with me for money," he objected, seemingly determined to drown in his self-loathing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't talk about the part of the contract, just afterwards." I refused to let that go. “But in case you need a reminder, that night you offered me the option not to touch me and you would give the money anyway. I decided to sleep with you that time too.” I swallowed. From a distance, I could see that decision made evident the beginnings of the rift between Aang and me. “Which, in hindsight, wasn't very kind to my husband… but </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> did it, not you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Would things have changed, had I been honest with Aang? There was no point in asking myself that, I couldn't change it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But…" He seemed to be looking for a new way to discredit himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Getting divorced is my business, not yours. Don't try to blame yourself for the way my married life was.” That was consequence of my youthful thoughtlessness, long before I even met him. Seeing that he was still skeptical, I continued. “Would you rather see me go back to a situation where I am not happy to ease your conscience?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gave me a shaky look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I just want you to be happy." He buried his face in his hands. “I don't think I'm the right person for that. Not with my family history.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I started to lose my patience.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You are not your father. And if you don't want to stop insulting yourself, then do it to stop insulting </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I would find a way to make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand,</span>
  </em>
  <span> no matter how many times I had to repeat it, that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be with him. “I thought we had established that I decide if I think you are good for me or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a deep breath, apparently on the verge of breaking down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of all this, the only thing…” I spoke tentatively, “the only thing I regret is not having met you earlier in my life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at me with genuine surprise, so vulnerable, as if it was the first time someone had told him something nice about himself. There was a lump in my throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wrapped his arms around me and I was enveloped by the same comforting warmth as always, the warmth that had become synonymous with security and tranquility and trust. I felt him place light kisses on my hair and something that was perhaps a very low sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a time that I couldn't (and didn't want to) measure, I held him against me, in a gentle rocking, until I felt him sigh against my temple. I pulled away from him just enough to see his face. I smiled; now I knew without a doubt that his happiness was as important to me as my own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Come on." Without letting go, I stood up, dragging him with me. “Have some rest. Once you feel better, tell me everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He meekly followed me upstairs, into the same room where not too long before I was having an existential crisis over the most recent months of my life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kat?" He stopped in the middle of the room and hugged me again. “Thank you. I don’t deserve it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm going to argue that with you as many times as necessary," I murmured in his ear. “I love you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words fit together quite naturally; saying them felt good, adequate. He, on the other hand, immediately tensed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you say?” He asked cautiously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I pulled away from him so that I could see his eyes. I didn't want any more doubts or misunderstandings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you. I will repeat that as many times as necessary too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened, an echo of all the times he had looked at me in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kat, I… I love you." He seemed unaccustomed to words. My heart was full and overflowed in a tear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He leaned into me and his lips sought mine with tentative, unsure movements. I poured my soul into that kiss, trying to convey to him the truth of my words, how important he had become in my life, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> I felt next to him since even before he said the words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without really noticing how, the kiss became insistent and I suddenly found the edge of the bed behind my knees. I let myself fall without letting go. Once we were lying down, in one motion, I turned to lay him under me, one knee on either side of his hips. I enjoyed every point of contact between us, wanting to make sure that he was still there, that he wouldn't try to pull me away again. He clung to me with similar fervor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Breathing heavily, I spoke so close to him that our noses touched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not going to leave without talking. Never,” I promised. “As long as you don't ever lie to me again. Or want to decide for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His golden eyes sparkled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I promise." Those words hung between us for the purpose of a pact, sealed with a kiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More than an end, it was a beginning.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That specific scene from the movie was the one that always made me stop seeing it. The ending is a big nope. From what I’ve gathered, it makes more sense in the book, but… well, the magic of fanfiction xD Tbh maybe the scene is at fault for this entire fanfic, some details from this chapter were among the first lines written.</p>
<p>We’re pretty close to the ending, and thanks everyone for reading! As always, betaing and improvement credit goes to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Ice Paradise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In front of the dresser mirror in a room not so familiar to me, I closed the last button on my white dress. The clothes had been bought expressly for the occasion, like Zuko's white suit. The color of mourning in the Fire Nation...</p>
<p>When I came out, he was already waiting on one of the sofas in the living room, in the house on Ember Island that his family had.</p>
<p>"It's almost time to leave." I approached Zuko. He nodded and stood, looking carefully expressionless. I held his hand, hoping he felt my support, and we got into the car that was waiting for us at the door. The journey continued slowly, with the pace in which life moves far from the big cities, and I barely noticed the seascapes on the other side of the window.</p>
<p>The morning after Zuko's return (and his questionable attempt to "repair the damage he had done to me," as he called it later, during our conversation), he told me all the missing pieces in the story: Jun, Ikem, the history of his parents.</p>
<p>"Jun said she will keep looking," he finished hoarsely, partially illuminated by the glow of dawn. I hugged him and he clung to me as if he feared being swept away by the tide.</p>
<p>And if I had to accept something, it was that Jun was definitely excellent at her job. Two and a half months later, she arrived with the somber news that Ursa's corpse had been found, inside a plastic bag at the bottom of the royal crypts of Caldera.</p>
<p>The body had been identified, some other legal issues settled, and finally, in the absence of a written will from herself, the body was cremated, as had been Zuko's maternal grandparents. The ashes would be scattered in the sea of Ember Island, as they did too.</p>
<p>One afternoon in the midst of that whirlwind of paperwork, I heard him talking on the phone in a strange, almost nostalgic tone, and I walked over after rearranging my study books.</p>
<p>"Azula is going to be present at the ceremony," he announced when he hung up the phone, with an expression I couldn't interpret. She had been discharged from the hospital a couple of months before, to move to a house of her own, but I hadn’t met her anyway. Although I couldn't say that I really wanted to meet her, either.</p>
<p>Still, there was no opportunity to worry too much about what his sister would be like, as she refused to stay at the house on Ember Island, where we would be lodged. She would arrive directly to the ceremony, at the moment when we would take the urn of ashes to the sea.</p>
<p>Which was about to happen.</p>
<p>When the car stopped at the designated fraction of the coast, there were already some people standing. It could not be considered numerous, but I knew that other people would be present, former friends of the Ta-Min family who still remembered Ursa and wanted to say one last goodbye to her.</p>
<p>The first person we approached was Uncle Iroh, whom I recognized immediately, though not the girl next to him. With sober makeup, her loose black hair fell to her shoulders, and Zuko's same golden eyes stared back at me. She must be Azula.</p>
<p>"Miss Katara! It's always a pleasure to see you, even in such somber circumstances as today.” He shook my hand with the same warmth as always and a sad glint in his eyes.</p>
<p>"Unlce, Azula," Zuko greeted awkwardly, unsure. “How… er, how was the trip?”</p>
<p>I knew he wanted to make an effort to reconnect, but I hoped it would be a little better than this...</p>
<p>"Just like every trip, Zuzu." Azula waved a hand impatiently. “Although I missed traveling first class and leaving Ba Sing Se, Ember Island was not <em> exactly </em> my ideal destination. And who is she?”</p>
<p>She eyed me from head to toe, one brow arched gracefully.</p>
<p>"Er… Azula, this is Katara. Kat, this is Azula, my sister.” I hadn't let go of his arm on the way and I nodded at the introduction.</p>
<p>"I didn't know you got married. I'm afraid I'll be offended if I wasn't contemplated for the wedding.” Her gesture didn't change an inch, brow still arched.</p>
<p>"It's not…" Zuko blushed. I tried to hide my own mortification.</p>
<p>"So your girlfriend, then?" Azula commented, unimpressed. “I am still surprised. You and Mai made a better couple.”</p>
<p>Even though I didn't want to react, my smile tightened. Instead, hers widened.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you. I hope Zuzu told you about me. About what I did.” She raised her hands in a parody of claws. “Aren't you afraid that the crazy sister-in-law will attack you?”</p>
<p>"I'm sure <em> Zuzu </em>hasn't told you about me." I smiled coldly. “Maybe you’re the one who should be afraid.”</p>
<p>For a moment, she froze in a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment. Then she laughed, in a way that I found a bit unsettling.</p>
<p>"I like your girlfriend, Zuzu," Azula smiled, teeth shining.</p>
<p>The lovely family reunion was cut short by the start time of the ceremony, and I breathed easier. The assistants distributed ourselves in a half circle around the place where the urn would be emptied. Uncle Iroh stood by my side as they handed us little lighted candles. A man in a long robe said a few words that I didn't pay much attention to, my gaze fixed on Zuko.</p>
<p>He stepped forward to receive the urn, decorated in red and gold. Instead of walking in the direction of the seashore, he stood still and looked at Azula. With a nod of the head, he invited her to join him. She hesitated a moment, her gaze uncertain, but she ended up reaching over and holding one edge of the urn, which Zuko had offered. Together, they walked to the edge of the cliff and tipped over the urn. The ashes fell into the water and scattered over the waves.</p>
<p>I closed my eyes to raise my prayer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I wish I’d had the chance to meet you. Thanks for everything you did for Zuko and Azula, it shouldn't have been easy, married to Ozai... </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I opened my eyes to see that the candle had almost completely burned out and was about to burn my fingers. Zuko and Azula were surrounded by the other assistants, to receive their condolences shoulder to shoulder. Judging from what I knew, it was the closest the two of them had been in a long time. And I didn't mean physical closeness.</p>
<p>Not long after, the people dispersed and the two of them came back with us.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," I said out loud, addressing both of them. Zuko hugged me. Over his shoulder, I saw Iroh hug Azula. I thought she would oppose some resistance, but she didn't.</p>
<p>When Zuko broke away from me, he sighed.</p>
<p>“It hurts. But in a way, I feel better.” We looked at the sea where the ashes had just been poured. “It’s good to finally know what happened.”</p>
<p>Azula herself looked pensive, staring at the horizon.</p>
<p>"For many years I thought she had abandoned us." Azula seemed to shrink, her spark dulled. “But it was not her decision.”</p>
<p>Uncle Iroh put a hand on his shoulder and for an instant, Azula's gesture softened a bit more.</p>
<p>"Anyway, I don't want to be here any longer." She straightened her back almost martially, regaining the facade of control as if the previous moments had never happened. “I’ll visit Omashu, spend a few days relaxing in the Fire Palace before returning to Ba Sing Se. So long, Zuzu, Katara.”</p>
<p>"We'll see you later," Uncle Iroh said as well, with a kind smile.</p>
<p>Azula glared at me again.</p>
<p>"Huh. That's an interesting peasant, I don't know how you convinced her," she told Zuko before turning around and she didn't look back to see if Uncle Iroh was following her.</p>
<p>I raised a hand, with every intention of protesting at that, not quite sure if it was an insult or an extremely convoluted compliment. To my surprise, Zuko breathed out something that was almost a laugh.</p>
<p>"She seems to like you." I narrowed my eyes at him. “Let’s go home.”</p>
<p>I decided to let that go for now. But just for that day, I promised to myself before taking his hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>o0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Much of Zuko's mourning for his mother had already been done after she disappeared. Still, he remained crestfallen throughout the month after the grim visit to Ember Island. He had a photograph of Ursa printed and hung on a wall in the studio. More and more often, he smiled at the image. He would probably never stop missing her (if I knew), but he seemed to find some peace with the fact.</p>
<p>More or less at that moment, I finished my registration procedures for the entrance exam that would take place in June. The weeks before, I was basically living at my desk, with short hours of sleep that made my patience even shorter. Zuko, however, did his best to stay on my good side and allow me time to study (even spending time daily reviewing math with me).</p>
<p>The day I took the exam, he waited for me outside the University building, flustered. When I finished, I found him incessantly pacing in front of the car. Then he took me home, and I collapsed on him and did little more than eat and sleep for the next three days. My hibernation stage would have lasted a week longer, had it not been for the phone call I received from the lawyer on the fourth day.</p>
<p>The divorce process was nearing completion, finally. It had taken longer than I (and the attorney) had expected, considering there were no children involved and I didn't want to fight over property. Still, Aang had tried to object and filed several appeals that added time to the process. Fortunately, my lawyer had taken my case very seriously, as well as my desire not to be present in the negotiations, or as little as possible.</p>
<p>So I saw Aang only once in the whole process.</p>
<p>I had gotten rid of the bad feelings simply by not thinking about him, by reminiscing about the offenses and pushing away most of the good memories. But having him in front of me, with raw despair in his eyes… I couldn't so simply shield myself behind the excuse that I wasn't happy to have hurt him like that.</p>
<p>If I had thought deeper about it all those years ago...</p>
<p>"Ms. Katara, the documents will be verified in fifteen business days. At the end of that period, I will get the official papers sealed and you will be divorced.” The lawyer's voice brought me back to the present.</p>
<p>"Thank you, thank you very much." My voice trembled on the last syllable. “Let me know as soon as everything is ready.”</p>
<p>"I will, have a good day," he said goodbye before hanging up. I looked at the phone in my hand, disbelief giving way, first slowly and then suddenly.</p>
<p>I was free. Or it would be in three more weeks, just in time to pick up the papers before heading to the South Pole for Gran Gran's wedding.</p>
<p>I kept quiet about the news until the day I went to the lawyer's office for the papers. That afternoon, I awaited Zuko's arrival with simultaneous anticipation and unease. Would he be glad like me? At this point it was absurd to doubt it, but feelings were not distinguished by rationality.</p>
<p>Druk's enthusiasm announced Zuko's arrival at the house. I stood up and hugged him.</p>
<p>"I have good news," I said without parting with him. Despite it all, nerves prickled all over my back. “I already have the divorce papers signed.” I couldn't look directly at him. “It’s official.”</p>
<p>"Kat…" I gasped from the strength with which he hugged me.</p>
<p>"So technically it's no longer illegal for us to live together," I smiled broadly. “Let's celebrate?”</p>
<p>I dragged him into the garden without him protesting. I had prepared a picnic dinner, which was a little more bumpy than expected thanks to Druk and his enthusiasm for tasting the contents of all the dishes.</p>
<p>Later that night, shortly before falling asleep, I watched him silently. Zuko had been glad, of course. Aang, on the other hand... he had still had hope in our relationship. Even though I had hurt him, he blamed it all on someone else. And if I had wanted to return with him, he would have forgiven everything, absolutely everything.</p>
<p>I closed my eyes, but his look of dismay seeped into my mind, and a tear slid down my cheek. Living with that memory, of having destroyed him like this, would be the price to pay for this freedom.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Two days before making the trip to the South Pole (and a day after she told me she was officially divorced), Ty Lee visited Ba Sing Se. When I walked into my office that morning, I found two people instead of one.</p>
<p>"Mai!" I was surprised to see her, in her usual dark dress with wide sleeves. “What are you doing here? I-it's good to see you, of course…”</p>
<p>Ignoring my tangled sentences, Ty Lee chuckled.</p>
<p>“Surprise!” She came over to hug me.</p>
<p>"Hi, Zuko," Mai greeted me as laconically as ever, and with the slightest movement at the corner of her mouth. She was genuinely happy to see me.</p>
<p>"How is Katara? And Druk?” Ty Lee stirred as Mai and I sat in the small living room inside the office.</p>
<p>"She already took her college exam," and with a huge smile, I finally confessed. “And she is already free, they gave her the papers of her divorce a few days ago.”</p>
<p>Ty Lee clapped her hands with a huge smile.</p>
<p>"Oh!" That reminds me of something! I'll be right back.” She leaped out into the small adjoining room, with an extra supply of energy thanks to the presence of her girlfriend.</p>
<p>“Congratulations. Does that mean the next wedding is coming?” Mai's eyes shone with more joy than I thought my news warranted her.</p>
<p>“Is it a good idea? Isn't it too early to talk to her about that? She just gave me the news two days ago,” I struggled, unsure.</p>
<p>Mai rolled her eyes, which on her scale of expressiveness was diagnostic of her impatience with my indecision.</p>
<p>"Zuko, you've had that ring for <em> months </em>." I didn't even wonder how she could know that, if I hadn't seen her for over a year. “I'd say you're taking a long time.”</p>
<p>Yes, it was a bit embarrassing. On impulse, I had bought her ring almost the day after she told me that her divorce was ongoing, just about seven months after I had first seen her in an Omashu boutique. Of course, from buying a ring to actually talking about it to her, there was an abyss...</p>
<p>“I know, but…”</p>
<p>"But she has been in the process for months <em> and </em> living with you. You should at least discuss it with her,” Ty Lee said, jumping up, an envelope in one hand. “You can take advantage of our wedding to bring up the subject. Look! The official invitation!”</p>
<p>She handed me the envelope, in rosewood with a dried flower decorating the cover, under the names <em> Mai + Ty Lee. </em></p>
<p>"It will be held in the Ice Paradise hotel in December, just after the inauguration." Unable to contain her enthusiasm, she took Mai's hand and waist to dance what looked like a very energetic version of a waltz. “Tell me you're both going!”</p>
<p>"I wouldn't miss it for anything." I smiled, my joy for them giving way to curiosity. “When did you get engaged? I had no idea you were planning your wedding.”</p>
<p>"About the time when you found out about your mom." Ty Lee looked at me apologetically. “It didn't seem right to tell you right then.”</p>
<p>"Oh…" That made sense. Either way, I was happy for them. “Thanks for that. Congratulations, I'll tell Kat and we'll be there.”</p>
<p>I was sure she would agree, because it was a visit to the South Pole, to the hotel that was the result of an investment campaign orchestrated by Ty Lee. Apparently, she had done it to find the ideal location for her wedding. The thought made me smile.</p>
<p>"Well, we take our leave!" She took Mai by the arm. “We have a lot of these invitations to deliver.”</p>
<p>So that's what she planned using her days off on.</p>
<p>"See you," I said goodbye as the two gathered their belongings and left.</p>
<p>Even though I told Kat about the wedding that afternoon, I still kept quiet about my own proposal. The excuse I made to myself was that it would be nice to see South Pole-style  weddings, especially since her grandmother's would be conveniently held so soon, and I could talk to someone in her family (it would probably be Sokka) about the traditions…</p>
<p>The day before the wedding, Kat spent the afternoon in a meeting with her grandmother and other women. That was the perfect opportunity, much to my dismay, and it didn't take me long to find Sokka in the living room, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table.</p>
<p>"Hey, Sokka…" I walked over to him, running a hand through my hair. “I have a, uh, few questions about tomorrow's event.”</p>
<p>"Yup, I’m listening." He didn't even turn to see me, struggling with a knot of hooks from his fishing gear.</p>
<p>"I heard Gran Gran mention something about a shell necklace," I began cautiously. Finding out about it and thinking about the ring I had already bought sunked my soul to my feet. But if swapping it for a carved shell necklace was the accustomed thing to do in the South Pole, I would.</p>
<p>"That's a custom from another region." He raised the hook he had just pulled out of the tangle triumphantly. “The man carves a necklace and offers it to the woman, if she accepts it, she agrees to marry him. In fact, the one Katara wears is one of those.”</p>
<p>"But it was her mother’s, right?" Something did not quite add up, if Sokka had just said that it was custom from another region... because if Aang had carved it for her...</p>
<p>"Pakku made that one for Gran Gran, but she ran away and when Dad got married, Gran Gran gave it to Mom," Not noticing my sudden distress, Sokka explained with a frown, concentrated on the hooks. “She told me that Pakku was planning to tell Katara to return it, but instead Gran Gran forced him to carve another one.”</p>
<p>"Hmm," I nodded. Kat hadn't told me anything about that, but it must’ve been because they hadn't said anything to<em> her. </em></p>
<p>"Yeah, Gran Gran didn't want to be left without a groom before the wedding," Sokka replied, sensing my thoughts. “My sister would have wreaked havoc at the mere suggestion of taking that necklace from her.”</p>
<p>I was silent, to reflect on that answer. She always wore it.</p>
<p>"I don't think she’ll want to replace it then," I muttered to myself. Maybe the ring wouldn't be such a bad idea, I didn't mean for her to have to choose just one necklace...</p>
<p>"Replace it?" Sokka looked up abruptly and stood up. “Are you speaking of what I think you’re speaking of? You’ve already carved one for...?</p>
<p>"No, actually I bought a ring…" I stammered, taken by surprise.</p>
<p>"Ring, huh? So it's a real custom.” He seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head and grinning from ear to ear.</p>
<p>I nodded, my face hot. Fine for the subtlety.</p>
<p>"Come on, I'm going to explain everything you need to know about the customs of the South Pole." He took me by the shoulder, then led me into the courtyard. “Have you already talked to her?”</p>
<p>I shook my head, a little scared of what Sokka was planning.</p>
<p>"Well done, it’s better if it’s a surprise. That’s what I did when I asked Suki, she was so happy…” Regarding the latter, something told me that Suki would be a more reliable source than Sokka in this matter.</p>
<p>A couple of hours later, Kat came to save me from long stories that rarely had anything to do with the actual matter. And the next day, the ceremony itself was not that different from those of the Fire Nation, although the ceremony included the joining of hands with a ribbon. At the party afterwards, I couldn't find a time to talk to Suki, and had to return to Ba Sing Se with only Sokka's advice.</p>
<p>Once back at the house, I could feel her uneasiness growing as the date for the announcement of the test results approached. Even though I loved her, I began to be anxious too, hoping that her good humor would return once the uncertainty was over.</p>
<p>The letter arrived on a Wednesday, and she jumped, breakfast forgotten, the moment she saw her envelope on the table.</p>
<p>She hurriedly opened it and scanned the contents.</p>
<p>"I'm in, I'm in, I'm in!" She yelled after a moment when I freaked out.</p>
<p>I hugged her, speechless, and with her enthusiasm she almost knocked me to the ground.</p>
<p>The following months, there was always what seemed like a good excuse not to bring up the subject of marriage. She started taking classes. She was going through exam season. No, she better rest for the weekend, we would talk the next.</p>
<p>And suddenly, vacations had started and it was time to go to the South Pole to Ty Lee's wedding, and then to visit Kat’s family. I'd wait until I found a signal that marked the right moment…</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>My classes at the University had started in September and although I loved the challenge, the December break came as a much needed time to breath after three months of readjusting to the pace of taking classes. Gran Gran had already promised me a celebratory dinner to congratulate me when I came to visit them. But of course, that had been delayed for a few more days by the commitment to attend Ty Lee's wedding.</p>
<p>The Ice Paradise Hotel was something I had never imagined possible at the South Pole a few years before. The spacious hall was already packed, with a couple of hundred people occupying row upon row of chairs in front of an altar, decorated to the brim with flowers.</p>
<p>Zuko's closeness to the happy couple secured us a place in the second row. Not in the first, because the large family of Ty Lee occupied completely, and even part of the second. Several of her sisters were already crying their eyes out, while others must still be preparing Ty Lee to come out.</p>
<p>It was precisely the return of the two sisters to occupy the two empty chairs that warned me that the moment of the ceremony was approaching.</p>
<p>"About time," I nudged Zuko, who was dozing in the chair next to mine. He wasn’t particularly fond of the early nights in the southern region.</p>
<p>He bolted awake, in time to see Mai and Ty Lee enter hand in hand, along with the attendant’s clapping as they advanced past the chairs. Mai's dress was dark red with gold trim, and her skirt trailed across the floor, while Ty Lee's was bright red and short to the knee, with a gold headdress that looked almost like a crown. They ignored the applause and other displays of affection from those present, each one too lost in the other's faces.</p>
<p>"When you took me to Caldera, I was a little jealous of Ty Lee, you know?" I confessed in a whisper, without taking my eyes off the two women standing in front of the altar. Their dresses, themselves, could not be more contrasting and yet so complementary.</p>
<p>"Tonight, we witness the union before the spirits of the lives of these two souls…" the minister began, his voice echoing throughout the room.</p>
<p>“Really?” Zuko whispered back to me, a gleam of amusement in his eyes.</p>
<p>"I don't have a good explanation, okay?" I narrowed my eyes, in a good mood. “She and you seemed so close, I had no right to claim anything…”</p>
<p>"You had it, I had given it to you." He put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned against him as the minister continued his speech in the background. “You have it now more than ever.”</p>
<p>"But now I know you. I trust you.” At those words he hugged me tighter, and the conversation stopped so that I could focus on the ceremony, which still lasted many more sentences. Maybe someday I would be there too… I stole a glance in Zuko's direction and smirked with a flutter in my stomach. Someday.</p>
<p>"I declare you united before the spirits," the minister finished his speech, and Ty Lee lunged at Mai to kiss her. They parted with a standing ovation from everyone present, and a tear gleamed from the corner of Mai's eye.</p>
<p>All the people stood up and some tried to approach the couple to congratulate them, while some hotel employees removed the chairs and transformed the room into a dance floor. The first occupants were the newlyweds, followed later by other couples.</p>
<p>“Do you want to dance?” Zuko offered me his hand, and I was either wrong or he was blushing.</p>
<p>"Let me think about it," I smiled broadly, as I took his hand and was already halfway to the dance floor. “Okay.”</p>
<p>The slow pace of the music didn't allow for great acrobatic displays, and yet Ty Lee seemed to defy gravity and inertia with her twists and turns around her wife. I smiled, with a drop of sadness; her dance style reminded me of Aang's.</p>
<p>The dance floor reduced in size as the night progressed, with fewer people dancing but never quite empty. Instead of a formal three-course dinner, they had opted for a version of snacks on trays that were constantly roaming the room.</p>
<p>"Can we rest for a moment?" I asked Zuko around midnight, when the music rose in volume along with the voices of the guests who had drunk the most wine.</p>
<p>"There's a smaller room on that side." He offered me his arm and we walked in the direction he had pointed. Arriving the same day, we did not really have time to enjoy the hotel facilities, which I vaguely remembered being stated during an exposition back in Caldera, more than a year ago. How much things had changed since then.</p>
<p>We went out into a side room, which had a dome open to the starry night sky. I sat down with a sigh on one of the available benches, with Zuko following me a moment later.</p>
<p>We were silent for a while, watching the night and enjoying the relative silence of walking away from the party. Zuko held my hand tightly and he was just comfortable. A few flashes of color seemed to form, but it couldn't be such good luck, could it?</p>
<p>“Look! Southern lights!” I jumped up and pointed to the beginnings of colorful ribbons that decorated the sky, waving and colors ranging from green to purple. “I didn't think we would be lucky enough to see it!”</p>
<p>I clung to the railing closest to the glass and peered through the dome, designed precisely to allow visitors a good view of the sky without having to freeze outside. Although watching southern lights while being outdoors had its charm.</p>
<p>Zuko settled in next to me and cleared his throat.</p>
<p>"Me neither... It must be a sign" I felt him stir beside me, not understanding what he meant.</p>
<p>Finally he turned to me and took a breath.</p>
<p>"Kat, will you marry me?"</p>
<p>A small open box gleamed in his hand, with a silver ring set with an emerald in the center.</p>
<p>"I know there's a lot to talk about and I should have said it before. It won't be right away, but it's something I've wanted to, um, talk you about for a while…” His voice trailed off and he stared at me, while I was unable to articulate my thoughts.</p>
<p>"Zuko…" I looked at him with wide eyes. I didn't think it'd come up so soon, and I couldn't find the right words. “This is... I... ah…”</p>
<p>"Tell me," he looked at me, waiting for me to continue. To my great reassurance, he did not appear to be distressed by my doubt. There was only a glimmer of anticipation and desire to hear me.</p>
<p>"I want some time before we get to that part," I finally said. “So many things happened so fast…”</p>
<p>He smiled with a light sigh.</p>
<p>"I could have approached this better," he conceded. “We can take as long as you want. What I really want to tell you is that… I want to be with you for as long as possible. I'm sure of that much.”</p>
<p>My own sigh was shaky. For a few seconds, I just stared at him, awash in love.</p>
<p>"My answer is yes anyway." With some shyness, I spoke again. “I do want to marry you.”</p>
<p>I hugged him, and he sighed in relief in my ear. We stayed like that for several minutes before I pulled away a bit, hiding a tear.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry if I alarmed you. The ring is more of a Fire Nation custom," he began, a little unsure, “but if you want, I can try to make a necklace like your grandmother's…”</p>
<p>With a beaming smile, I held out my hand for him to place the ring.</p>
<p>"This is perfect," I assured him, hugging him again. My mother had received the necklace from Gran Gran when she married Dad, and after that she had left in my hands when she died. I preferred to keep wearing it...</p>
<p>Sighing, I leaned against his shoulder. Sure, there was a lot to talk about. Although I did want to get married, I was determined to make a conscious effort to think it through. I wouldn't be impulsive, like the time before, with Aang… I wanted at least a year and a half before the wedding, and considering my classes, it might be even longer.</p>
<p>And although I was sure that I had made mistakes in the past, I would not let that paralyze me forever. We both deserved a new chance, after everything that had already happened.</p>
<p>There next to him, in the land that I considered my home, and bathed in the glow of the southern lights, I had the confidence. With a little more time, everything would be fine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope the timeline of all this has not been so confusing, it basically covers events throughout an entire year… </p>
<p>Anyway, this is oficially the last chapter, but since there's an epilogue, I think it'd be more precise to think of it as a two-part ending. That means next week's chapter will be the last... on this story :D There will be a companion story (rated M) that I haven't been able to translate yet TToTT and a one shot about Aang. I'll make it a collection here, hopefully soon!</p>
<p>Thanks for reading, and improvements for this chapter are possible thanks to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Epilogue. Blue, red and gold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The intensity of the sun woke me up and I grumbled, still half asleep, a complaint about Zuko and the times he forgot to close the curtain at night. I reached out a hand to ask him to go close it, but to my great bewilderment, the other side of the bed was empty.</p><p>I opened my eyes and sat up. In a flood of memories, it all came back to me: my family's arrival in Ba Sing Se the day before, settling in at the hotel Uncle Iroh had booked, and finishing preparing all the details for the event.</p><p>For my wedding to Zuko.</p><p>I stared at the dust particles glistening in the sunlight through the window. A long chain of events had brought me here, all stemming from a simple accident: walking into a store to see dresses just as a man was talking on the other side of the windows.</p><p>Although it was a little further back. I still sometimes wondered what it would have been like if I hadn't followed Aang's terrible idea the morning he suggested winning money at a casino. If I had put a limit on it, as my instinct had begged me.</p><p>But then my life would go on just like then, exactly the same.</p><p>I would already have a small child in my arms and perhaps another baby on the way. I would still be cooking two pots of soup, one without fish, in the same horrible office job day after day, and waiting. Always waiting for the moment when he fulfilled his dreams to start thinking about mine.</p><p>I would not be a year away from getting my university degree, or developing my own projects for the South Pole, with the ability to help people... I was not proud of everything I did to get here, there were things that desperately wished had been different. But if necessary, I would do it again.</p><p>I stood up to stretch my back. I couldn't afford to lay in today. Someone knocked on the door, and I went to open it.</p><p>"Good morning, I'm here on alarm clock duty." I found Zuko, flashing a big smile on the other side of the door.</p><p>"Good morning." I hugged him and placed a kiss on his smile. “The trick of the open curtain always works, I just woke up.”</p><p>"And…" He peered into the room, glancing for a moment on the unmade suitcase on a bench and the covered mannequin Uncle Iroh had arranged for the wedding dress. “No second thoughts?”</p><p>"What did we say about doubting me?" I replied with a teasing tone, but the reprimand was serious. He shouldn't look down on himself like that, especially after almost four years together. “I said I was marrying you today, and that's what I'm going to do.”</p><p>"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he approached, apologetically, and I hugged him again.</p><p>"Keep that in mind," I whispered against his ear, and he held me tighter.</p><p>"I just... I can't believe it. I never thought my life could be this good.” He ran a hand through his hair, in a nervous gesture that I already knew by heart. “I still feel like I'm going to wake up, and I'll be back in the day before I met you.”</p><p>"Well, you would meet me again and voila," I shrugged. “You'd have a good incentive to approach me if you remember this, right?”</p><p>He opened his mouth to accept I was right or (more likely) to protest, but he was interrupted by the door opening again.</p><p>"Good morning! How’s the bride?" Suki walked in, and her smile only widened when she saw Zuko there. “Sokka is looking for you at the restaurant. He wants to make sure you won't run away at the last minute.”</p><p>"Run away? <em> Me?”  </em>Zuko looked at her in disbelief.</p><p>"Or he just wanted to talk to you, I can't quite remember. Come on, get out, out. It's time to get the bride ready.” Suki grinned from ear to ear as she kicked Zuko out of the room, still protesting the whole way. It could still be heard after my sister-in-law closed behind him. “Are you ready?”</p><p>"Yeah." Thinking about the prospect of the rest of the day, my stomach flooded with an ocean teeming with butterflyfish. “A little nervous, I guess.”</p><p>"I didn't think so of you," she joked as she lifted the canvas that covered the mannequin with the dress. Long, red and blue silk with gold embroidery, it was not what I would have imagined I would wear to my wedding. But since I had it, I wouldn't change a thing. “Less so since now is the second time”</p><p>"You know an elopement doesn't count!" I protested, but even my outrage was eaten away again by nerves. “Were you nervous too when you married Sokka?”</p><p>"A little, but mostly because I was afraid he would insist on bringing his boomerang and injured a guest by accident." She struggled with the buttons and knots of the dress and snorted in frustration. “I'm going to need reinforcements, I'll be back in a second.”</p><p>Meanwhile, I began to get ready what I could: take out the rest of my clothes and brush my hair. To save time that morning, I had showered the night before, with the predictable result that my hair was unruly and fluffy.</p><p>I was reading the label on the styling cream for instructions when Suki returned, flanked by Yue, Song, and the stylist, who immediately seated me in front of the dresser and diligently applied my hair to achieve (what I expected which would be) an elegant braid.</p><p>“Do you need anything?” Yue offered me after nearly an hour under the constant heat of the hair straightener and blow dryer.</p><p>"Water, have mercy," I implored, as Suki and Song continued to closely examine the different layers of the dress.</p><p>"Thank you," Song snorted when Yue returned with drinks for everyone. She was also entering medicine at Ba Sing Se, and I would be seeing her much more often on campus. It was something that excited me about my last year there.</p><p>Before the hairdresser fixed the hairline, I asked her to leave the locks with the blue beads. It was as close as possible to my mother being present...</p><p>When she left, I wanted to get some rest, but Suki immediately put her makeup bag on the dresser that the stylist had just vacated. She had insisted on doing my makeup, which I had gladly agreed to at the time, but now I would have killed for a few minutes of stretching on the bed.</p><p>“No. We are very tight on time and it will take us a while to get that dress ready. So we can start with the base…” Suki denied my request and set about working on my face. She would occasionally stop to ask for Yue and Song's opinions, because I didn't contribute much when she asked me.</p><p>"I know the dress has blue in it, but a warm tone favors the undertones of her skin…" I felt Yue examine me critically as Suki nodded seriously.</p><p>"Whatever, but quick," I sighed helplessly. I was beginning to think with some longing about Zuko's offer to make the ceremony smaller, against Uncle Iroh's wishes.</p><p>And they finally got to the finishing touches. They let me stand up for a while to rest from the chair while Song and Yue went to prepare themselves for the event.</p><p>"Definitely red lipstick…" Suki rummaged in her bag and I stepped forward to get something out of my suitcase.</p><p>"I thought of this one." I handed it to her shyly and she took it quickly.</p><p>"Awwww!" Suki read the label and recognized it immediately. “It's the same one he gave you that time!”</p><p>The blood rose to my cheeks like the flare of gasoline to which a lit match reached.</p><p>"I'm too old for this." I pulled away in the direction of the window.</p><p>“Don’t say that! The only thing this shows is that you two are meant to last.” She laughed. “The gesture is pretty sweet of you.”</p><p>I smiled despite myself.</p><p>"But the lipstick until just before the ceremony." She deposited it on the dresser. “And since you're totally ready, time to move on to clothes.”</p><p>The dress, of dark red silk with navy blue sections, was lavishly embroidered in gold thread with abstract spiral motifs that reminded me of the waves of the sea at the base, and higher up, of wisps of smoke. The wide sleeves clinked with tiny sheets of gold at the edges, and the sun danced in the glow of the embroidery.</p><p>I loved it.</p><p>Dressed only in my underwear, Suki helped me get into the first layers of the dress without messing up my hairstyle or leaving makeup traces. For the last part, the dress itself, I began to fear. The skirt had three layers, intricately intertwined with each other so that the colors were interspersed and the dress maintained a certain volume. The numerous knots to achieve these effects made it easy not to stain the dress when putting it on, but the problem was to tie them all back together.</p><p>In the meantime, Yue and Song arrived again, already in their own long dresses, and tried to help Suki. After nearly twenty minutes of struggling, it was clear that this was going to take a while. Suki asked to leave to let Sokka and Zuko know that "some unforeseen events had arisen."</p><p>I sat for a moment, fed up with the problem. I enjoyed the short break, preparing for another session of knots, until the door opened again to let Suki through. And someone else, who almost pushed her away to enter.</p><p>"I heard my help is needed." Azula was standing in the room, arms folded and a gesture of superiority that, however, did not amount to contempt. “Really, I'm not surprised.”</p><p>"She heard me complain about the dress and said she knew how to tie everything," Suki apologized in a whisper, while Azula gave orders and explained the order of the knots in the skirt and then the long ribbon that would wrap around my waist. She did that one herself, in a complicated bun that I looked at in the mirror, impressed despite myself.</p><p>"Thanks," I conceded reluctantly. Azula's eyes sparkled.</p><p>"Acceptable," she commented with a haughty smile. She left just after that —and closed the door behind her.</p><p>"That was weird." Song flinched and I was glad that she had held on until Azula was out of the room.</p><p>"We're leaving too," Yue hugged me. “Get some rest, there's some time left before the ceremony and Suki still has to get ready.”</p><p>I nodded, but when they came out, I didn't sit back. Rather I went to the full-length mirror in the bathroom. I hardly recognized my image. The Katara there seemed so different from the girl who lived in Chin City, not so long ago...</p><p>Despite the exhaustion, I felt unable to sit still. Instead, I paced the spacious room from side to side. The heels of the shoes weren't very high, but still, I felt better by practicing a bit. Sokka would never let me forget it if I stumbled on my wedding day.</p><p>A measured knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. It couldn't be Suki, she would just walk in, and it was still too early...</p><p>"Miss Katara," one of the organizers bowed as I opened the door. “Someone is looking for you. He doesn't want to pass. He says that it’s urgent.”</p><p>"Didn't he give his name?" I frowned. I was sure that everything had been arranged already…</p><p>"No, he only asked to speak to you, he said it would be short. I installed him in one of the waiting rooms.” I glanced at the clock. If it was a few minutes, nothing would be wrong.</p><p>"In that case, I'll go see," I frowned slightly. What was it about, that he couldn't wait for the ceremony to pass? “Please find Miss Suki and let her know where I'll be.”</p><p>I followed the organizer through one of the side aisles, which avoided the patio where everything was being prepared for the start of the wedding. He opened the door for me, and I walked in.</p><p> </p><p>My feet stuck to the colorful tile floor.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>I couldn't remember how my uncle convinced me that making the wedding a big event was a good idea. There were even several journalists circulating in the manicured garden full of flowers, annoying as flies, full of charged questions and bright flashes. Fortunately, their permission to cover the event included not disturbing me, and some other people actually enjoyed the attention, like Ty Lee. It seemed that she was already giving a full interview.</p><p>I was startled when I felt a hand on my arm.</p><p>"How do you feel, brother-in-law?" Sokka arrived when I finished adjusting the collar of my shirt, which for some reason I found suffocating no matter how I adjusted it.</p><p>"Like I‘m about to pass out," I swallowed. The clothes didn't help; the traditional male costume was less showy than the female one, but still, with the colors and embroidery of the long jacket and pants, I felt like a red peacock standing on a snow field. All the people were watching, and that certainly didn't help my nerves.</p><p>"It can't be that bad," he smirked. “Or do you regret planning such a big event?”</p><p>"That wasn't exactly my idea," I grumbled, picking up a small flower from a nearby bush and twirling it between my fingers. “I dreamed of marrying Katara, my uncle dreamed of organizing my wedding.”</p><p>"At least he's having a good time," Sokka conceded, pointing to the other side of the garden, where my uncle stood out with his eccentric white flower crown and was pacing around with a huge smile. Through the door, a steady stream of guests kept pouring in, half of whom I couldn't name, but apparently I'd done business with them at some point in my life. Among them I recognized Col and made a face. Should I come over to thank him? Something told me that even if I didn't do it, Col wouldn't hold it against me.</p><p>"I told Kat and she accepted." I hoped she didn't regret it after seeing all this. My uncle argued that it was good for the public image of both of us and above all, of the Fire Corp itself. At the time, it had seemed important, but now, he was beginning to doubt that all the inconvenience was worth it. What mattered was that I would be with Kat...</p><p>Just then, Hakoda approached us with long strides and an even bigger smile.</p><p>"You are about to become an official part of the family." He put an arm around my shoulders, almost repeating the words of his son earlier. “We three have to organize a fishing trip together…”</p><p>Sokka nodded enthusiastically and I took a second to my astonishment. Awe-inspiring, the way Katara's father's attitude had changed since I met him.</p><p>There was no time to continue planning a fishing excursion, it was already close to the start time of the ceremony. My uncle came over and led us, smelling like flowers, to the places reserved for the family. On my side, there was really little family. Starting in the second row, the guests mingled without much regard to which side of the wedding had invited them. To be fair, most of them were my uncle's guests, or people we had to invite because of their parts in business.</p><p>Mai and Ty Lee had reserved front row seats, and they were already there. They soon noticed me and approached me, with an identical gleam of happiness in their eyes, though only Ty was smiling broadly.</p><p>"I told you the wedding was not a crazy idea!" They were the first words she spoke to me when he was close enough. “I have a sixth sense for the compatibility of auras.”</p><p>She looked at me with deep satisfaction, as if it had all been her doing. To be honest, I did owe her some credit, for all the help she gave from behind the scenes.</p><p>"Thanks for everything," I ended up saying, having no better way of expressing what I felt.</p><p>"What about me, Spice King?" Toph came up behind me, giving a start. “You won't tell me I didn't help at all.”</p><p>"Thanks to you too, Toph." Her only response to that was a blow to my arm.</p><p>"I'm happy for you," she chuckled. Mole-badger sat next to his partner's feet and I could see Ty Lee restraining himself from petting him. Despite the times she and Toph had met, Ty still had a hard time not petting a dog near her.</p><p>I caught a glimpse of Azula walking in the direction of our small group, and my companions were immediately on guard.</p><p>“Good luck! We will be here to cheer you on!” Ty hurriedly said goodbye and led Mai to her chairs. Toph followed them; she barely knew Azula, but my sister's relationship with Ty Lee and Mai had never fully recovered after the attack episode.</p><p>When she got to my side, Azula pretended that she didn't care about it, but I already knew her well enough to know that she had cared, which made her voice a bit stringent.</p><p>"Seriously Zuzu, they're a bunch of commoners." She rolled her eyes. “They didn't even know how to tie the dress.”</p><p>I opened my mouth to protest and defend my fiancée, but Azula wouldn't let me finish.</p><p>"It suited her well, I didn't think it was possible for her dark skin. Congratulations.” She put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a genuine smile, not the polished one I saw most of the time. Then she went to his seat next to Uncle Iroh, who immediately began to chat about the flower arrangements. Azula nodded placidly from time to time.</p><p>She still had many of our father's principles too fixed, but she had already changed, at least a little...</p><p>Fortunately, the suit had pockets and I took out my watch. It was almost time, and Suki wasn't coming. I made my way to the building and was about to reach the door when I came face to face with Suki, who took my arm.</p><p>“Can you come for a moment?” She squeezed her hands and bit her lip, which immediately put me on alert.</p><p>“Of course. Is Katara okay?” I asked instantly, as she hurried me through a side garden gate. What if anyway, she had decided that she no longer wanted to get married and she was leaving and Suki was just distracting me so she would have time to escape…?</p><p>"You think too hard, calm down. She is fine, but she may need your support.”</p><p>We stopped in front of a smaller door, which didn't answer my questions, but I decided not to ask any more.</p><p>"Stay here, okay? It's something she has to do alone, but pay attention. If you hear anything weird, go inside.” She gave me a slightly watery look and I nodded. “Not before, only if you think it is necessary to enter.”</p><p>"Got it," I replied with a curt nod. I wasn't sure what was going on on the other side of the door, but something told me it could be serious.</p><p>Suki turned away from her with one last look back. I straightened my back, steadying myself. I was willing to face whatever it was.</p><p>Although I hoped from the bottom of my heart that nothing would happen.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Standing in front of me was Aang, complete with tattoos and the orange half cape that he and Gyatso wore in the beginning, which made them stand out so much in the white winter of the South Pole...</p><p>I shouldn't be so surprised, I knew seeing him was a possibility. Not because I had sent him an invitation, I was not so insensitive. But I did ask Sokka to tell him… Using Jet would have left me dreading some nasty prank. And, after all, Aang was an honorary member of the family, more like a brother than a partner. I should have understood that much earlier, and it would have saved us both a lot of pain.</p><p>He had changed so much in the time I hadn't seen him. There was already a start of a mustache covering his upper lip, which brought back memories of Gyatso, although the rest of his hair was still as shaved as ever.</p><p>"You look beautiful," were his first words, filled with adoration. I didn't know how to react to that.</p><p>At my sudden muteness, he spoke again.</p><p>"I'm not staying, I hope you understand." Beyond the other changes in his appearance, he was haggard and pale. The instinct was so ingrained that immediately the advice flew into my mouth: do not pull all-nighters, have you eaten well? Try to get some sun for an hour every day... I silenced them before they came out as words.</p><p>"Thanks for coming," I whispered. I wanted to hug him, but I was afraid that even reaching for his arm with one hand might be misunderstood. In the gray of his eyes was a desperation ready to cling to even the tiniest shard of hope. Though hope, that sharp, would cut him off.</p><p>"I couldn't let you go without seeing you one last time." His breath hitched, interrupting the words from time to time.</p><p>I sighed, not wanting to point out that he must have let me go long before, when we legalized our separation.</p><p>"I thought you would be my ‘forever’. I don't understand how all this happened.” He seemed to search my face for an answer.</p><p>"We weren't the best combination." A speck of irritation sparked and died out a second after. He didn't see it because he had been on the side that received everything I gave, he had not exhausted himself in the process.</p><p>In spite of everything, I didn't say anything else. I had hurt him enough in the past.</p><p>Visibly trembling, he took a deep breath.</p><p>"I just want to tell you something, one last thing." He kept her hands glued to his sides, too straight for the posture to be natural.</p><p>I waited, while he took a breath and finally looked me in the eye. His own shone with unshed tears.</p><p>"For the rest of my life and when I reincarnate in the next, I will always regret that I dragged you to Omashu that day." The first drop slid down his cheek. “A thousand times I would have lost the Air Temple if that meant keeping you.”</p><p>I flinched at the unexpected sting of pain. Using all my will, I looked up again. I must contemplate the work of my impulsive decisions in the past, of the 21-year-old me who had agreed to elope with him without more than a minute's reflection, without another thought.</p><p>"No," I forced the words through the lump in my throat. “Do not regret it. Find what makes you happy, so happy that when you look back on our time together, you laugh and wonder how you ever missed that in the past.”</p><p>The attempt to smile, full of tears, made it clear to me that he did not think it was possible. It was in my power to give him the only thing that would remedy that sadness... but I couldn't, not anymore. I had already given him everything I was capable of without starting to dilute myself hopelessly, even a little more. The rest depended on him alone.</p><p>“I found it. You can too” at any other time, I would have hugged him. Now, I felt that it would hurt him more, that it would give her a memory to cling to to avoid continuing with his life.</p><p>I endured as best I could as I saw the last of his hope fade in his gray eyes. He hunched his shoulders, as if he were a puppet and his strings had suddenly been severed.</p><p>"I wish you the best, K... atara." He hesitated between his old nickname for me and my full name, which made me smile sadly. It was the first step.</p><p>"Me too, Aang." I hoped he could be happy. That he could rescue at least part of his culture, that he found a new partner, that he had the children he longed for. I was sure that he would make a good father.</p><p>I couldn't stay there a second longer, not without crying. I said goodbye with a slight shake of my head before turning and hurrying my step out of the small waiting room. Without seeing where I was going so fast (to be wearing heels), I bumped into someone in the doorway. The impact was squarely with the man's chest.</p><p>"Kat?" Instinctively, Zuko wrapped his arms around me and I clung to him tightly. “Is everything alright?”</p><p>"What were you doing here?" I didn't get away from him, so I couldn't see his gesture.</p><p>"Suki told me to be ready to come in, in case you need me." Holding him close to me was balm for the strident residual emotions of the encounter with Aang. He fit in next to me as if the place for him had always been there. When he saw that I looked about to cry, his tone changed to one of urgency. “What happened?”</p><p>"Aang came to say goodbye," I took a deep breath. “I didn't think he would.”</p><p>His breathing stopped for an instant.</p><p>“And...?” I could read it in his eyes. The uncertainty, the agony that I would encounter if I told him I was leaving. But also that he would respect what I decided without another word. I sighed, trying to expel what was left of the lump in my throat.</p><p>"He's still hurt," I said with an effort. There was so much pain in his eyes... “I hope he can recover soon. Sokka told me that he was already working on the draft for the book.”</p><p>“Then…?” He didn't finish asking, but I knew what he meant without having to hear it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Yes, I'm staying here with you. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Come on, it's almost time, isn’t it?" I took his hand and felt his relief in the force of his grip as we walked back to the garden where the ceremony would take place.</p><p>Suki was waiting behind a column and her face flooded with relief when she saw us arrive. Exactly what had she thought when she received my message? How did she know to tell Zuko to wait for me outside? I thanked her with a silent smile</p><p>“You forgot this!” She came over to place the lipstick in my hand, which in the midst of everything, I had all but ignored. Not a second after, she ran in the direction of her seat next to Sokka.</p><p>I uncovered and applied the red color to my lips and for a second I looked for a place to put it. But the only major flaw in the dress was its lack of pockets.</p><p>"I can keep it," Zuko offered, a twinkle in his eye as I passed it to him. Had he really recognized it from that night?</p><p>We resumed our walk much calmer than Suki, and it still took us a while to make out the rows of garden seats. Just as we had seen Mai and Ty Lee some years ago, we walked down the aisle hand in hand to the altar.</p><p>"Shall we start?" Asked the minister in a gentle voice, dressed in a long dark red robe.</p><p>"Yes, please" I nodded, and Zuko smiled.</p><p>"Welcome everyone here. Today, under the light of Agni, we will unite two souls…” The words of the rest of the speech were lost in furtive glances in Zuko's direction. Our eyes met, and I was unable to look away.</p><p>The nervousness of the morning was reborn, and began to bubble in my stomach. It was a new commitment, although neither I nor my life would change drastically with this, it was important. And perhaps that was one of the biggest differences from my previous wedding, when my whole universe had been redefined around my marriage.</p><p>Now, although all the consequences of my encounter with Zuko had affected my whole life, I stayed with him by agreement, by a sincere desire to do so and after thinking long and hard about it, including the six months that I lived alone, for an exchange semester at the North Pole University.</p><p>Of course, I could look like the villain. The unfaithful, gold-digging woman who abandoned her husband for a rich man. Without discussing the minutiae, what most people would not see behind my actions was the rest of the circumstances. I had married Aang out of impulse and out of my need of feeling necessary, but also out of love… and yet I hadn't thought about what we both wanted out of life, which in the end was an irreparable difference.</p><p>But even after all that, even knowing it… it was difficult. I hoped one day to be at peace with my actions in the past.</p><p>Now, there was the future. And the present, to which the minister's last words brought me back after having missed most of my own wedding speech. The minister had raised his arms, and reality had never felt so tangible as at that moment.</p><p>“Under the gaze of the sun, we pray to the earth and ask for abundance, that this marriage grows stronger with each season. We pray to the fire and ask for warmth and light for this union and the love in their hearts. We pray to the air and ask that it allow you to navigate safely through your lives. We pray to the water and ask that it cleanse and calm the relationship, that there is never a thirst for love.”</p><p>I swallowed hard, again flooded by an ocean of nameless emotions that covered me like a blanket on a winter night, leaving all worries out.</p><p>“When treating each other with respect, compassion and tenderness, always keep in mind what brought you together in the first place. When there is frustration, difficulties, or fears threatening your relationship, as they threaten every relationship at one point or another, also look at what is right between you, not just what seems wrong. Thus, you will navigate the storms when the clouds hide the sun in their lives, remembering that even when you do not see it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes equal responsibility for your life together, it will be marked by abundance and joy.”</p><p>Had I done that with Aang? Or had I gotten carried away with the bad? I closed my eyes for a moment. If I had fallen into that in the past, I couldn't change it. But I had learned for this new opportunity.</p><p>“Now, you will be mutual refuge, company and warmth. May there be happiness and a long life together on this earth.” It was time for the exchange of rings. I felt my fingers clumsy as I put the gold ring in Zuko's hand, and when he put another in my finger.</p><p>"Agni bless this union," the minister finished. The last step, as usual, was a quick kiss.</p><p>I smiled with a sound halfway between laughter and sobbing, and at that moment a clamor ran through the rows of guests. The party soon manifested itself, and for long minutes I dedicated myself to accepting handshakes and smiling in response to congratulations from strangers and almost strangers.</p><p>It took us a while to get a break, after the dance started and after lunch. But as soon as we could sneak out for a second, Zuko pulled me close to him. He didn't need more than that to convey to me everything I needed to know. We were complements, to achieve what would have seemed impossible apart, to help each other and even make a better world along the way.</p><p> </p><p>Never before had I been so happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And… the end. Thank you for joining me in this adventure of writing a fic of around 100,000 words, for giving me the courage to continue and publish week by week and finally put the story into actual writing, which allowed it to unfold in unexpected ways that as a file in my mind would have been impossible. </p><p>It's my longest full-length work yet, and while it's certainly full of flaws (some that I'll go back to correct, others that I just consider learnings), I hope you enjoyed the story.Special thanks to rahidas04 and Ruby Heartfillia, they made this story a lot lot lot better TToTT</p><p>I'm not saying goodbye, because I still have several things for this fandom waiting on the inkpot :) including the still-secret project for the Zutara Big Bang (I’m super excited about that one!)  and like at least three other long stories that will take maybe a couple of months yet… Because, as in this story, I would like to avoid a hiatus at all costs (in truth, I’m surprised that the tactic of scheduling actually worked…).<br/>If you decide to get on any of those other future stories, we will continue reading each other. If not, thank you anyway for getting this far into the story, it means everything to me.</p><p>And if someone has a profile over there and wants to chat or something, I'm @moneneki on Tumblr :3</p><p>P.S .: The vows are inspired by what the internet declares as from the Cherokee and Diné culture, native cultures of North America, and a little bit on Buddhism. I do not mean any disrespect and I am attentive to any comments in this regard :)<br/>P.S.S.: In the next few weeks, I will be correcting the chapters of this fanfic, for minor adjustments, typos and general polishing.<br/>Thank you!</p>
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